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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23495854">Vengeance Falls</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamshaper/pseuds/Dreamshaper'>Dreamshaper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, sort of AU-ish</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:00:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>30,561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23495854</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamshaper/pseuds/Dreamshaper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Helena Bertinelli is on a quest to avenge her family, and Victor Zsasz is the last name on her list. Stalking him at Sionis' club is part of the plan. Falling in love with the stunning singer there? Not so much.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Helena Bertinelli/Dinah Lance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>168</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>230</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm AU trash, so of course my second fic for this pairing takes a slightly AU-ish direction. (The third one I'm writing right now goes there all the way. Don't blame me, I can't help it.)<br/>Also, is it just me or is Zsasz' name annoying as Hell to type? XD<br/>Enjoy and stay safe! :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em> We start this fire<br/></em> <em> Just to burn it all<br/></em> <em> From a dark desire<br/></em> <em>Our vengeance falls</em><br/><br/><b>Trivium - Vengeance Falls</b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Helena has never liked clubs, perhaps she would enjoy them more, had her upbringing been different, but as it is, she can’t stand them - too loud, too crowded, too dark, too many jerks around who think it’s okay to smack her ass as she walks past.</p>
<p>And she can’t even retaliate, because she is here to track a target, her final target, so she can’t be noticed in any way, she has to fit perfectly into the crowd and not show that she’s actually a well-trained killing machine.</p>
<p>She tries not to look around too obviously as she enters the club, there aren’t that many people around yet even though it’s Friday night - perhaps, she ponders as she moves to the bar, checking for possible exits and things she can use as a weapon, should it be necessary, the party goers leave their houses later in Gotham, and the club will fill up later, it is supposed to be one of the most visited ones in this area.</p>
<p>So far, nobody seems to pay any attention to her, and that is good; she moves to the bar and chooses a seat there, one with empty ones left and right, hoping this will send a clear sign - <em> leave me be, not here for company, just here to drink </em>. </p>
<p>“What can I get you”, the barkeep asks, somewhat cliché as he is cleaning a glass with a towel while he asks her; he raises an eyebrow when Helena asks for a coke, but doesn’t comment further, simply serving it and telling her the price, the amount somewhat exorbitant, but then, it is one of the fancier clubs in town.</p>
<p>She pays him, and tips him - not so much that he’ll remember her, both no tip and too high of a tip would make her stand out, and that is the last thing she wants; he clearly can tell that she doesn’t want company from the look on her face, as he retreats again to serve another client, and Helena turns on the seat to survey the club, taking sips of her coke as she looks.</p>
<p>The man she is looking for isn’t here yet, she can tell, she knows exactly what his face looks like, having seen it in her nightmares over and over the past fifteen years; the well-known rage wells up within her, and her grip on her glass tightens for a second, before she reminds herself that she is in public and needs to keep this under control.</p>
<p><em> Don’t fight the rage </em> , she mentally recites what she has been told a thousand times during her time in Sicily, <em> but don’t let it control you. Store it, and when the time comes, use it. </em></p>
<p>Helena’s grip on the glass loosens again as she takes in a slow, controlled breath, and the rage subsides; she keeps looking around the club, still on the lookout for her target, quickly checking her watch as she wonders when he will show up.</p>
<p>He’s here every night the club is open, this much she has learned about him; she doesn’t know where he goes though when he leaves the club, and she needs to find out, needs to know his routine so she can start making plans. </p>
<p>He’s the last one on her list, and she doesn’t want to mess this up.</p>
<p>Movement on the stage at the other end of the room catches Helena’s eye, and she automatically looks over - there might be a threat emerging, after all; what does emerge isn’t a threat though, but the club’s singer, Helena has done her homework and knows the woman has a show here almost every night.</p>
<p>She’s read articles about the club before coming here for the first time, and has seen pictures, but none of them have done the woman justice, she thinks to herself as she sits there, stunned by the singer’s elegance and beauty.</p>
<p>For a few seconds, Helena just stares, mesmerized, while the woman - <em> Dinah Lance </em> , she remembers, <em> that’s her name, the articles said so </em> - introduces herself and talks a little bit before she starts her set; then, she shakes her head as if to clear it, and scolds herself, telling herself not to get distracted like this.</p>
<p><em> No, no, no, </em> she sternly thinks to herself, noticing that her grip on the glass has tightened again and loosening it with a conscious effort, <em> no getting distracted. Think of your mission. He should be here any minute now. </em></p>
<p>As if to make sure that keeping focused is going to be hard, Dinah starts to sing on the stage, and Helena finds herself unable to look away once more; her voice is <em> amazing </em>, she thinks to herself as she listens, and she can’t understand why no one else seems to pay any attention to her.</p>
<p>They all just keep talking, she notes, which is somewhat rude; she wonders if Dinah notices, if it bothers her, but if it does, it doesn’t influence her skill, as she keeps singing wonderfully, and even though Helena knows she is supposed to look out for her target, her gaze returns to the stage again and again, no matter how hard she tries to keep her eyes out for the man.</p>
<p>She’s fairly certain that her eyes meet Dinah’s at one point, and it sends a jolt of heat through her, even though she looks away again quickly, berating herself once more for getting distracted like this.</p>
<p>This has never happened to her before, and she has no idea what to do about it; Helena does recognize attractiveness in others when she sees it, but no one ever has had such an effect on her, commanding her attention with their mere presence. </p>
<p>Then the man she is looking for enters, and she forgets all about the singer, eyes focused on him now as he walks along behind who she knows to be the club’s owner, nodding at people he knows, and smiling at some of them, and seeing that smile makes her skin crawl.</p>
<p>Helena remembers that smile all too well, it has been burned into her brain when he showed it as he gunned down her family, and she remembers his laughter too, knowing what it sounds like when she sees him laugh without hearing him, he’s too far away for that, but she still knows.</p>
<p>From the stage, Dinah watches how this new face stares at Victor Zsasz with what can only be described as pure rage in her eyes, and she can’t help but wonder what this means… and if there’s a way she can find out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The woman is still sitting at the bar when Dinah finishes her set, and as she heads to her little backstage room, her mind races as she tries to figure out what to do; before she decides on any course of action, she figures she might as well get some help, and finds her phone, quickly typing out a text and sending it before she can change her mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You send someone else after S and / or Z? New lady here who tries to kill Z with her glare.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She feels a bit weird using just the letters, even though she has been doing so for a while, and she figures it won’t help in case Sionis or Zsasz ever get their hands on her phone; her contact insists on doing this though, and so she goes along with it, not wanting to waste time arguing about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the answer comes quickly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>new player in town? Can you find out who she is? Don’t need complications.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Will do</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she texts back, then puts her phone back into her bag before she changes into something more casual; it’s not unusual for her to have a drink after her set, so nobody will suspect anything, and by now, she just needs ten seconds to not look anymore as if she has been up to something, unlike when she started work with her contact and has felt as if the guilt can be seen on her face from a mile away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She almost expects the woman to be gone by the time she steps back into the main area of the club, that would be just her luck; she’s still at the bar though, with a fresh glass of what appears to be coke, and she’s still staring at Zsasz, the man in question thankfully too busy to notice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah has noticed how the woman kept looking at her too though as she’s been singing, and so figures she’ll have good chances to distract her; and that won’t hurt, she knows, it’s never good to gain Zsasz’ attention, and especially not by staring at him, something he always seems to take oddly personal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, she slides into the seat next to the woman, effectively blocking her view on Zsasz; and just for a second, as their eyes meet, Dinah sees pure rage in the stranger’s eyes, even though it flickers and dies when she seems to realize who just sat down next to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi”, Dinah says, smiling, trying not to let it show that she has noticed the rage and that it freaks her out quite a bit, she wonders what must have happened to someone to make them so angry, “you’re new here, aren’t you? I noticed you watching my show.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, yes”, the stranger says, looking uncomfortable all at once, and finding it hard to look Dinah in the eye, “it was… you were… very… good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you”, Dinah beams at once, “honestly, thanks. Most people here are so used to me being up there, I bet they don’t even hear it anymore when I sing, so it’s nice to get complimented.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They should”, the other woman says, still looking everywhere but at her - but she has stopped staring at Zsasz, Dinah notices, and that is good, “um… listen to you, I mean. It was really good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks”, Dinah repeats, then holds out her hand, taking note of how the stranger tenses up, just for a second, but long enough to let her notice - as if she gets ready to defend herself, she notes, a reaction which seems to be reflex or instinct, and not conscious thought, “I’m Dinah, by the way, Dinah Lance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Helena”, the woman replies, shaking her hand, before she pauses and frowns a bit; then, she seems to shrug off whatever has just bothered her, as she gulps down the rest of her coke, and clears her throat before she speaks up again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was nice to meet you”, she says, sounding a bit less awkward now - perhaps because she is about to get away, Dinah thinks to herself somewhat sardonically, “but, I… I gotta go now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hope to see you around again”, Dinah says in response, and she means it, and not just because this might be some unexpected new player on the field; Helena seems somewhat strange and awkward, but Dinah is honest enough with herself to admit that she finds her attractive, and wants to see her again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yes, sure”, Helena babbles, then shuts herself up and, to Dinah’s amusement, blushes visibly, even in the dim interior of the club; she clears her throat again as she hops off the chair and mumbles a goodbye, turning and practically rushing off before Dinah has the chance to say something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh”, Dinah lets out, giving the barkeep a brief thankful glance when he puts down a gin tonic in front of her, “well, that was a fast exit.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She makes a mental note to text her contact about the brief interaction with the newcomer, then grabs her drink and retreats to her backstage room, before Sionis can get the idea to approach her; and once she’s sure no one is following her, she sends the text, telling her contact that she only learned the woman’s first name and that she’s a bit strange, but that she hasn’t been able to find out anything else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>If she comes back, try to learn more</span>
  </em>
  <span>, her contact’s response comes at once; she writes back </span>
  <em>
    <span>OK</span>
  </em>
  <span>, then puts her phone away again, aware of the danger she puts herself in with this, but knowing it’s the right thing to do - and not having the slightest idea where this will lead.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid, stupid, stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Helena scolds herself as she walks away from the club at a brisk pace, </span>
  <em>
    <span>a pretty girls talks to you and you just blab your name! At least you didn’t give your surname, but next time, why don’t you tell her your whole tragic backstory, too, you idiot!</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She groans to herself, not caring if the people she passes on the way to her bike give her weird looks or not; she’s parked at a safe distance to the club, and in a dingy side-alley too, so the bike won’t be too visible, but apparently, this has some disadvantages as well, as she finds two men standing at her bike and eying it, mumbling to each other, apparently having theft in mind and trying to figure out how to get the bike started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They are a very welcome outlet for her rage, at herself and at everything in general, and so she snaps “Hey!”, a dark smile curling her lips when they both look at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is my bike”, she tells them, stepping closer, and something about her makes them exchange  nervous looks, perhaps the lack of fear or the way her whole body has tensed now, “you like it? You seem very interested in it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, it’s nice”, one of them says, actually taking a step back, and Helena’s smile widens, “but we want no trouble, Lady.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Too bad”, Helena says, and they both gulp, “because I do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She drives out of the side alley not even a minute later, leaving them both on the ground, alive, but unable to move, and she figures they should be grateful for that… but the rage is still there, as it always is, fighting them has dulled it for about ten seconds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wonders if it will go away, once she is done, and what she will do if it doesn’t.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Dinah steps onto stage the next day, she finds herself scanning the crowd for Helena, to her own surprise; and she surprises herself again when she spots the dark-haired, tall woman at the bar, same seat as the previous evening, and it makes her feel happy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t be ridiculous</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she tells herself as she sings, she has done this song roughly a million times at this point and probably can sing it in her sleep, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re acting like a teenager.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She manages to catch Helena’s eye as she sings, and is fairly certain she can see the other woman blush, even at the distance between the stage and the bar and in the dim light; Helena doesn’t look away though, even though her cheeks are flaming, she keeps holding eye contact, and Dinah makes a game of it, trying to test who will break first and look away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s not surprised when it’s Helena, the other woman shifting awkwardly on her seat as she drops her gaze and focuses on her glass.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah keeps her gaze on Helena as she sings, because she can tell that, even when Helena isn’t looking at her, her voice touches her, and this is more than she can say for most people at the club; and it keeps Helena from staring at Zsasz again, even though her gaze does follow him a few times as he walks around the club, as always right behind Sionis, his faithful little pupper.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Stop staring at him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she thinks at Helena, even though projecting her thoughts like this is not a skill she actually has, </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop it. He’ll notice you. You don’t want Victor Zsasz to notice you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah doesn’t have any sort of telepathic skill, but it somehow still seems to work, because Helena stops staring at the man after a while and looks at her again; Dinah makes sure that their eyes meet before she winks, and is amused when the other woman blushes brightly yet again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She keeps this up during her set, catching Helena’s eyes again whenever she notices her looking at Zsasz; and it works, Zsasz doesn’t appear to notice, once again too busy kissing Sionis’ ass, and Dinah figures that is a good thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I need to warn her about this</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she decides as she reaches the final song, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she might not know what she is getting into. And sooner or later, he </span>
  </em>
  <span>will</span>
  <em>
    <span> notice her.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even though Dinah loves singing, and loves being on stage, she’s somewhat glad when her set is over this night; she makes a quick detour to her backstage room and checks her phone, relieved when there is no new message, then makes her way to the bar, glad when Helena is still there, yet again drinking coke, this time managing a lopsided, somewhat awkward smile when Dinah sits down next to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi again”, the singers says, returning the smile, even though hers is much less awkward, “nice to see you again. Enjoyed the set?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah”, Helena says at once, idly playing with her glass, but this time finding it less difficult to look Dinah in the eye, prompting Dinah to wonder if this time, she’s ordered something with a bit more kick than just coke, “you’re very good. Um, I’ve said the exact same thing yesterday, but… well…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No worries”, Dinah reassures her at once, not wanting her to make a quick exit again like the previous evening, even though she fears exactly this might happen once she’ll bring up Zsasz, but she knows she has to; and so, she decides to get it over with quickly - </span>
  <em>
    <span>like ripping off a band-aid,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she tells herself, clearing her throat and taking in a calming breath before she continues.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t get this wrong”, she says, and immediately, Helena looks alarmed, to Dinah’s dismay, but she doesn’t let this stop her, “I, um… I’ve noticed you staring at Zsasz. From the stage.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She lowers her voice as she speaks, so nobody but Helena can hear her, not even the barkeep; she doesn’t know how much said man knows about the side business of Sionis and his lapdog, but she doesn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena stares at her, unmoving, and for a second, the rage is back in her eyes, Dinah noticing her gripping her glass tightly, quickly placing her hand on the other woman’s wrist in an attempt to calm her down, but that only seems to make it worse as Helena jerks her hand back, with enough force to spill some of her drink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I know it’s none of my business”, Dinah quickly speaks on, before Helena can make a hasty exit again, “but you don’t want to notice him stare at you. And, not to be rude, but you’re not exactly covert when you glare daggers at him across the room.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some of the rage fades from Helena’s eyes at hearing that, and she grimaces as she realizes that Dinah is probably right; she’s been taught how to be unsuspicious, how to not be noticed, but the club is so crowded that she’s allowed herself to slip, badly enough that a total stranger like Dinah has become aware of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is him you’re after, right”, Dinah distracts her from these thoughts, giving her a curious look, “Zsasz? Not Sionis?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who says I’m after anyone”, Helena replies flatly, hiding it well how fast her mind is racing - if Dinah has noticed, someone else might have, too, Dinah is right, she needs to be more careful or Zsasz himself might notice, and that would ruin her whole plan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please”, Dinah says with a roll of her eyes, “I’m not stupid. You’re not staring at him with murder in your eyes because he’s so attractive. But don’t worry, I don’t think anyone else has noticed… so far. You need to be more careful though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would you even care”, Helena demands to know after a moment of just looking at her in disbelief, “you don’t me. Like, at all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I don’t”, Dinah freely admits, earning another confused look from the other woman, “but I know Zsasz. He’s an asshole. So I figure he’s done something to deserve it, and while it’s none of my business to know, I hope you’ll manage to do whatever you plan to do to him, because it’s about time he pays for all the shit he’s pulled over the years I’ve worked here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh”, Helena lets out, not sure what else to say but, Dinah notices, not trying to deny that she’s after Zsasz anymore, “well. Okay, then. I’ll be more careful. Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No problem”, Dinah says, and for a moment, she almost offers her help, then bites the words back - Helena seems nice enough, but she has no idea what is really going on, and she is taking enough of a risk helping her contact, there’s no need to add any more to the danger she already willingly puts herself in on a daily basis.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, she simply orders another drink instead of saying anything to Helena, and Helena does the same, once again going for coke; and as they sit side by side in silence and sip their drinks, Dinah notices the other woman’s gaze move to Zsasz again a few times, but she looks away again quickly every time, to Dinah’s relief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright”, she says after she’s finished her drink, making Helena look at her again, “I guess I’ll see you around then? Take care.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You too”, Helena mumbles, appearing awkward again now; Dinah gives her a smile she hopes is reassuring, then gets off the seat and makes her way back to her backstage room, quickly finding her phone there and typing a new message to her contact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>New face H is after Z</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she writes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>not sure why but seems determined. Thoughts?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shouldn’t approve, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the reply comes fast again, making her wonder if her contact just stares at the phone all day waiting for a text from her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>but he’s an asshole. Good for her. You think she’s up to the job?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She does look fit</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dinah tells her contact, thinking back to what she has seen of Helena’s arms so far, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no idea if she’s any good at fighting though. Guess we’ll find out at some point, unless you want me to stop her.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Nah,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the answer comes fast again, </span>
  <em>
    <span>leave her be for now. But keep me updated.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>K</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dinah quickly sends as she hears footsteps approach her room; she hurriedly packs her phone and moves to sit in front of the mirror, pretending to be fussing with her hair when the door opens, every inch the brainless singer with a pretty face and a nice set of lungs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s Zsasz, she is unhappy to notice, but at least he doesn’t beat around the bush, and doesn’t ogle her too obviously; he just tells her Sionis wants to see her in his office, then leads the way, and Dinah follows, her heart beating fast as she wonders if she has been found out and if anything unpleasant is waiting for her.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Dinah”, Sionis greets her, with usual smarmy smile, and she forces herself to smile back, even though this has been getting harder and harder lately, “my little songbird. So good of you to join me here. Drink?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No thank you”, she replies, she’s always just civil enough to him to not get fired, but not too friendly, not that it stops him from leering at her; he smiles again and shrugs, then pours himself a drink, and she can feel Zsasz behind her more than she can see him, leaning against the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Blocking the exit, </span>
  </em>
  <span>part of her realizes, while another part takes note of how he probably stares at her ass, trying her best to appear relaxed and carefree while she feels tense and worried inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got a little something for you”, Sionis says, and when he reaches into his pocket, she almost expects him to pull out a gun or a knife, that he has found out she’s secretly working against him and will make her pay; instead, he pulls out a check, and Dinah blinks, as that is the last thing she’s expected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here”, he says, holding the slip of paper out to her, “a little bonus. For your stellar performances lately. I have a little extra task for you though which comes along with it, you know nothing in this world is for free.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it”, Dinah asks as she takes the check and glances at the amount, impressed at how high it is; Sionis smiles again, and she hopes he won’t notice how this smile makes her skin crawl. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing too big, no worries”, he tells her, taking a sip of his drink before he continues, “I got a… special guest coming here on Saturday. And I want you to give a little private show for him, in one of the backrooms.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know I won’t do any kinky shit”, Dinah says at once, before he might get any ideas, “that’s not in my contract and you can keep that money if you want me to do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no, no, gosh”, Sionis denies at once, shaking his head for emphasis, “just singing, I promise. But use that money to buy yourself something nice for that gig, hm?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah just nods, knowing what he means by </span>
  <em>
    <span>something nice</span>
  </em>
  <span> - something revealing, so his mysterious guest can drool over her curves as she sings; this is much better than being killed for working against him though, he seems to suspect nothing, and she figures she can do that extra job, if only to keep her cover. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sionis gives her another smile, and once again, she forces herself to smile back; then, he turns and looks at his phone, a clear sign that she is dismissed, and she turns to leave, frowning when Zsasz is still blocking the door. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you mind?” she says, a bit too sweet, but she doubts he will notice; he smirks at her and moves a step aside, just enough so she can pass, but still ends up brushing against him on the way out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dinah thinks to herself as she moves past him and back to her room, </span>
  <em>
    <span>guess that means a longer shower tonight.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s never liked him, even before she has started to find out what Sionis does when he isn’t at the club, and how Zsasz helps him; with this new knowledge though, the thought of being touched in any way by this man makes her want to throw up, and it takes quite the effort to keep her face neutral when she leaves the club and waves goodbye to those who knows her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, she hopes that Helena does have the skill she’ll need to take Zsasz down, and that perhaps, she will solve this problem for her before things can start to go wrong.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Helena does come back every evening for the rest of the week, and while Dinah notices that she is still looking at Zsasz every now and then, she doesn’t stare as openly anymore, lowering the risk that he will notice; and every time when her set is done, Dinah goes to sit with her for one drink, not bringing Zsasz up again, remembering how guarded Helena has reacted when she did so last time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena does relax more and more around her, Dinah can tell, each evening they spend some time together; usually, she just sits with her for one drink, but even though that is not much time, it seems to help, as Helena does let her guard down noticeably around her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She still doesn’t reveal much about why she is after Zsasz, or about herself, except that she doesn’t drink when she’s “working”, as she puts it, her response when Dinah has asked her if she wants to have a proper drink with her; so, Dinah’s bought her a coke instead, and she’s seemed surprised, but accepted the drink, apparently not used to anyone buying her drinks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you’re here tomorrow, too”, Dinah says on Friday evening, after her set, as they sit at the bar again, “I might be here later. The big boss is entertaining some private guest and I’ll help him. No kinky shit though, just singing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s not quite sure why she has added that last part, but it seems to have been a good idea, because Helena looks momentarily relieved; then, the taller woman takes a sip of her drink and clears her throat, glancing at Zsasz again before she speaks up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He gonna be there, too?” she wants to know, not really surprising Dinah; she nods, glad that Helena is looking at her again and not gaining Zsasz’ attention, Helena letting out a small sigh in response, frowning to herself, Dinah shaking her head before she can say anything though.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t try to do it tomorrow, whatever you want to do”, she advises, Helena making a face, but at least this time not trying to deny it anymore that she’s after Zsasz, “Sionis will be there, too, and who knows if his guest brings anyone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena lets out a vaguely agreeing grunt in response, turning her glass this way and that as she seems to think about what Dinah has just told her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know a lot about him?” she finally says, glancing at her, “where he goes when he’s not here with Sionis?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No”, Dinah answers honestly, this is not the first time someone asks her this and she’s had no other answer for her contact, either, “but I’m fairly certain he doesn’t go anywhere where Sionis isn’t, unless when Sionis sends him. He’s like his little lapdog.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At this, Helena lets out an amused snort, and Dinah finds herself smiling - it’s the first time she gets something close to a laugh from the serious woman, and she feels oddly proud at having managed this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well”, Helena says, taking a sip of her coke and briefly glancing at Zsasz again before her eyes meet Dinah’s once more and she continues, “he’s more like a rabid dog. And you know what people do with them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah raises an eyebrow, she has an idea where this is going, but wants to hear it out loud from Helena, if only for confirmation; and the taller woman does her the favour, the rage Dinah has seen in her eyes a few times flickering back up as she speaks up again, voice cold and hard now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They get put down.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Even though Sionis has reassured her that there won’t be any demand for kinky stuff, Dinah is nervous when she steps into the private room he uses to entertain special guests; she has bought herself something nice, like he put it, a low-cut black dress which hugs her curves, but doesn’t reveal too much, sending a clear message about her function at this - she is here to sing, no more, no less.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The guy still ogles her as if she’s a piece of meat on his plate, and she tries hard to not let her disgust show; this gets even harder when Sionis introduces her as “my little songbird”, but she seems to do a well enough job, as both Sionis’ guest and Sionis himself are smiling when she steps onto the little stage.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does she know any Russian song”, the guy wants to know, his heavy accent making it quite obvious why he would ask for Russian songs; Sionis makes a sad face and shakes his head, and the guy sighs dramatically, then shrugs, smiling up at her as she steps up to the mic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess American songs good, too”, he says, then falls silent as she starts to sing, at least showing her this bit of respect; he’s still ogling her as she sings, but she can tell that her voice impresses him, just from how the look on his face changes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sionis lets her go through two songs without interruption, then nods at someone behind her - probably Zsasz, she grimly thinks to herself - and the volume of her speakers is lowered; Dinah knows better than to stop though, and just keeps going, even though she basically has been demoted to background music, the sound so soft now that she can hear what Sionis and his guest are saying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Oleg”, Sionis starts, with a smarmy smile at the man, “I can call you Oleg, right? You can call me Roman. I’m glad you accepted my invitation tonight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Free drink and free music”, Oleg replies, smirking as he raises his glass, and Sionis lets out a very fake sounding chuckle, but Dinah figures that the Russian doesn’t know him well enough to know it’s fake, “of course I come. But this doesn’t change final answer.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure”, Sionis wants to know, frowning now, “you don’t even want to reconsider? That is too bad. I think we could do amazing things together, you know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We are amazing on our own”, Oleg tells him, “we no need American club owner to help out. Sergej says thanks for the offer, but we’re not accepting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s really a pity”, Sionis sighs, and leans back into his seat, casually running his hand through his hair; and a second later, Zsasz steps out from where he has been in hiding close to the seats and jabs a needle into Oleg’s neck, the man gasping in surprise and pain, his eyes going wide, but he’s not making a move to get away, and when Sionis speaks up again, Dinah knows why.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very powerful paralyzer”, he says, smiling again, his smarmy smile now, and Dinah’s blood runs cold, “I wish I could tell you to tell Sergej how bad I feel that I have to do this, but you won’t be leaving this room alive. This will send a clearer message than any words could.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His gaze moves from the helpless Oleg to Dinah, his smile widening; she has fallen silent, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered, eyes cold and ruthless when he looks at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stay”, he commands, and for a moment, she feels as paralyzed as the Russian, “I want you to see this. Oleg has displeased me, and this is what happens when people displease me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He nods at Zsasz, and with an all too happy smile, Zsasz produces a knife from somewhere within his jacket; and when he starts cutting, Dinah can tell that Oleg wants to scream, but can’t, the paralyzer keeping him both immobile and silent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seems to take forever, and all she can do is stand there, and watch; when she looks away once, Sionis reminds her not to, and she forces herself to look back, even though it makes her stomach turn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You haven’t displeased me, yet”, Sionis says once Zsasz has finished his work and is admiring the messy outcome, and there’s blood </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and now Dinah just struggles to not throw up because she doesn’t know what Sionis will do if she does, “but something in my gut tells me that you are… meddling. Where you shouldn’t. And I always listen to my gut. You’re not meddling, are you, my little songbird?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She can only shake her head, knowing any control will vanish the second she opens her mouth; Sionis seems satisfied though, smiling again now, even though his eyes are still cold, the eyes of a man who just had someone murdered without hesitating a second.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good”, he says, leaning back comfortably, not caring that there is a dead man right next to him now, “why don’t you take the rest of the evening off. Think about this lovely… conversation we just had.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He casually dismisses her with a wave of his hand, and Dinah practically bursts from the room, hearing Zsasz snicker behind her; she knows she has to get out of here, of the room and the club, and as far away from Sionis as possible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her mind races as fast as her feet as she rushes through the club’s main area, she can hear someone call out to her, but doesn’t bother to stop and look who it is; she has been scared before in her life, what with living in Gotham, and she has seen her share of unpleasant things, but she’s never had to witness something like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>He doesn’t know</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she tells herself in a helpless attempt to calm herself down, </span>
  <em>
    <span>if he knew for sure, you’d be dead now, cut up like that guy Oleg. But he suspects, he suspects something or he wouldn’t have done this, I never should have agreed to this…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She rushes out of the club and around the corner, into one of the darker alleys; people sometimes make out here, when it’s late, but it’s too early for that, so she’s alone, and now that she’s on her own, and away from Sionis’ cold eyes, she can’t hold it back anymore, her stomach turning as she bends over and throws up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Someone touches her, pulls her hair back, and she twirls around to smack them at once, feeling an odd mixture of relieved and impressed when she sees that it’s Helena, and that the woman has easily caught her arm in a surprisingly strong grip before she’s actually been able to land her hit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey”, Helena says, of all things, eying the puddle of vomit on the floor before she looks up at her again, “um… you’re not okay, are you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah shakes her head, once again not trusting herself to open her mouth; Helena is clearly uncomfortable, but to her credit, she doesn’t make a hasty exit, looking around instead if anyone else is nearby before she vaguely gestures at the alley behind them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You, uh, you want to get out of here?” she suggests, and Dinah nods at once, not caring where they will go, just eager to get away from Sionis and his club; belatedly, she realizes that her bag is still in her room, and finds herself forced to speak after all to tell Helena, the taller woman surprising her yet again by letting her know she’d go get it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay”, she brings out, and Helena reassures her she’ll be quick before she hurries back into the club; leaning against the cool brick wall behind herself, Dinah takes in a few slow, controlled breaths, trying to regain some calm as she waits for Helena to come back - and finding herself wondering what to tell her, how much to tell her, and if she puts her in danger too by going with her now.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As it turns out, Helena takes her to her home, an apartment not far from the club so clean it’s almost sterile; she offers Dinah a seat and a drink, and Dinah accepts both gratefully, by now calm enough to take note of the fact that the whisky Helena hands her isn’t exactly cheap. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So”, Helena says, sitting down next to her - but not too close, Dinah notices, and she seems quite uncomfortable now, even though they are in her home, “do you want to tell me what happened or…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I messed up”, Dinah sighs, taking a sip of the whisky before she slumps back into the seat and stares up at the ceiling, “I tried to do the right thing and I messed up. Badly. And now I might end up with my face sliced off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Zsasz won’t touch you”, Helena says at once, and Dinah pauses, then looks at her with a raised eyebrow; she’s not sure how much of Zsasz’ preferred way to kill someone is common knowledge, in the right circles, but she’s fairly certain that Helena shouldn’t have made that connection so fast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He won’t”, Helena says again, apparently mistaking her silence for surprise at her somewhat bold statement, “I can promise you that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m surprised you know that”, Dinah explains in response, taking another sip of her drink, “I mean, that’s not something your regular Gotham citizen knows, I imagine. The club wouldn’t be so packed every night if they did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I know”, Helena tells her, apparently not planning to reveal how she knows, “and he won’t hurt you. Neither will Sionis, though that is unlikely anyway, as he usually lets Zsasz do his dirty work. I know that, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh”, Dinah lets out, “I guess you did your homework. Good for you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Preparation is important”, Helena says in response, sounding as if she’s heard and recited these words a thousand times, “never go for a hit unprepared if you can avoid it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For a hit?” Dinah repeats, and Helena makes a face, belatedly realizing she just has revealed a bit too much about herself, having spoken without thinking, something she blames on her lack of social interactions like this one, “what are you, some sort of assassin?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes”, Helena says in such a deadpan tone that Dinah wonders if she’s joking now; Helena waits for a reaction, then sighs - before she gets up and walks to the cupboard at the other end of the room, figuring she might as well come clean now, so Dinah knows she means it when she says she won’t Zsasz hurt her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulls the cupboard open, and Dinah isn’t sure what she has been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s knives, in various sizes and shapes, and a crossbow, bolts for it, and several versions of brass knuckles, the regular kind Dinah has seen before and some more creative ones, with spikes on top, enough weapons to supply a small gang.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No guns though, Dinah also notices, but then, that makes sense for an assassin, because guns are loud, and assassins are not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit”, she finally lets out, momentarily distracted from how upset she’s been at what Sionis has forced her to witness, “that’s… a lot of weapons. Someone hired you to take out Zsasz then? Can’t say I’m surprised.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No”, Helena tells her, surprising her after all, “I don’t work for hire. It’s… more personal than that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now Dinah is curious, but she knows better than to ask - Helena has that guarded look again, and probably already regrets that she has revealed as much as she has, Dinah quickly deciding that she has to get even with her for this somehow, figuring it’d only be fair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got a contact”, she thus tells Helena, the taller woman taking a moment to close the cupboard again before she sits down next to her again, “at the police. I’ve been keeping them updated about Sionis, his… less legal dealings.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And now you think he found out”, Helena adds for her, and Dinah sighs, then shakes her head, earning a surprised look; she finishes her whisky and nods when Helena holds the bottle up questioningly, waiting until her glass has been refilled and taking a good sip before she speaks up again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He didn’t”, she states, only making Helena look more confused, “if he knew for sure, I’d be dead. But he suspects something, he… Remember his special guest? The one who got a private gig in the backroom?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena nods, and Dinah wins some time with another sip of alcohol; it’s starting to hit her, she realizes, and she should pace herself, but she is still upset, so that’s sort of difficult. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was from the Russian mob”, she explains, Helena listening in silence, not moving a muscle, the way all her attention is on her making Dinah feel a bit weird, “Sionis tried to get into business with them, I think, and they denied him. So he had Zsasz cut the guy up and slice off his face, and he made me watch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh”, Helena lets out, making a face again, though she seems less disturbed than she perhaps should have, considering what Dinah just has told her, “yeah, you’re right, he doesn’t know for sure. But he might have some sort of vague idea, and what he did today wasn’t just a warning but a test, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that fits his twisted mind”, Dinah sighs, emptying her glass again, but shaking her head this time when Helena offers another refill, “and I really don’t know what to do now. I don’t want to go back there for another second, but who knows what he might think… or do… if I don’t. And he knows where I live, I’m officially registered at his club and everything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can stay here, if you want”, Helena offers at once, and Dinah can only blink as she hasn’t expected that the slightest, “at least for a bit? Until you figured out what to do? Maybe your contact can help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you”, Dinah says, touched by how quickly this offer has been made, “that’s very nice of you, I mean, you don’t even know me that well. And you have no reason to care… so much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were nice to me”, Helena tells her, to her surprise and slight amusement blushing a bit, “at the club, I mean. And you warned me about Zsasz. So… this is how I can repay you for that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, thanks”, Dinah says again, earning a small smile from the other woman, “and I’ll gladly take you up on that, for now. But not for too long, don’t worry, you won’t have me in your hair forever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In my hair?” Helena repeats, frowning, and actually reaches up to touch said hair; and even though she’s been upset not even ten minutes ago, Dinah finds herself laughing, then explains it’s a figure of speech, laughing again when Helena lets out an “oh” in response, suddenly quite sure that, despite how badly this day has started, everything will work out just fine in the end.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>I might be in trouble</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dinah types into her phone a short time later, while Helena has gone out to get them something to eat, the singer only now having realized that she does feel quite hungry, </span>
  <em>
    <span>S suspects something. Had Russian who pissed him off killed in front of me.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Shit</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the response comes quickly, and Dinah can only agree, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you ok? Heard about the Russian. Friends are pissed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe they will solve the problem for me, then”, she ponders out loud, she can’t say she doesn’t enjoy the thought; the phone vibrates in her hand again as another text comes in, and she rolls her eyes at what it says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You’re not home are you, might not be safe.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she writes back, holding back the urge to add “do you think I’m stupid”, </span>
  <em>
    <span>staying with a friend. Not sure if I should go to work tomorrow or not.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Go</span>
  </em>
  <span>, her contact tells her, and she makes a face, she knows it might be better to act as if everything is fine, but the thought of going back to the club is making her skin crawl, </span>
  <em>
    <span>act like nothing happened, it’ll appease him.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah isn’t happy at the thought of going back there, but she knows her contact is right; and so, she sighs, then writes back that she will, and just when she finishes that text, the door opens and Helena steps back inside, carrying pizza boxes and a bag with what appears to be cans of soda and beer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I figured you might want something to drink which is not alcohol”, she explains as she puts the boxes and drinks down; Dinah nods her agreement and accepts one of the sodas, her stomach audibly making itself known when Helena opens the boxes and the smell of the food reaches her nostrils.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should not be this hungry after someone had his face cut off in my presence”, she comments as she, in stark contradiction to her own words, helps herself to a slice; Helena just shrugs as she takes one for herself, settling comfortably into her seat to eat before she asks Dinah what her next step is going to be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll have to go back tomorrow as if nothing happened”, she sighs in response, Helena frowning a bit, but not protesting, “or Sionis will start to think that his suspicions are right. I really don’t want to but…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right”, Helena agrees after thinking about it for a moment, “acting as if nothing happened might be your best bet, but you need to be careful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know”, Dinah sighs, eating another slice even though the conversation is killing her appetite again, “honestly, right now, I mostly worry I’ll lose my temper and kick Sionis in the face. Which would not be a good idea.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not when Zsasz is around”, Helena seriously replies, apparently taking Dinah’s words at face value even though the singer hasn’t been fully serious - she does have the skill to kick Sionis in the face, but she knows better than to actually do it, “I’d recommend making sure you catch him alone to do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...yeah”, Dinah says, deciding not to point out that she hasn’t been fully serious, “I’ll do that. If I’m lucky, I’ll just do my set and leave again and he won’t bother me with his presence.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be there, too”, Helena decides in response, shrugging at the look Dinah shoots her, “it might be more suspicious if I suddenly stop showing up, I have been going there every night for a while now. And if someone saw us leave together yesterday…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh”, Dinah lets out, once more realizing that she might have put Helena in danger as well, simply by going with her the previous night, “right. I’m not sure anyone did but… we can’t know for sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, we don’t”, Helena agrees, but doesn’t seem all too perturbed by the thought of Sionis sending someone after her - but then, Dinah ponders, she has an impressive arsenal of weapons, and Dinah figures she knows how to use them all, and doesn’t have much reason to be scared of any mooks Sionis might send to get her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So we’ll act as normal as possible, both of us”, Helena adds, making Dinah nod, “but we need to find some way you can alert me, in case something happens where I can’t see it…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah’s first thought is her phone, but she realizes quickly that she might not be able to get to it in an emergency; Helena frowns to herself as she thinks, then pulls out her own phone, and tells Dinah she’ll make a call or two, apparently having contacts which might be able to help her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah halfway expects her to leave the room for those calls, but she doesn’t; and there’s no need to, Dinah quickly realizes, because once her first call is taken, Helena switches from English to what sounds like Italian, complete with hand gestures as she talks, and Dinah can just sit and stare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena talks for a while, either not noticing that Dinah is staring at her as if she’s growing a second head or not caring; and when she hangs up, she makes another call immediately, still not going back to English, leaving Dinah with no idea what she actually is talking about. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This call is done faster than the first one, and Helena looks pleased when she hangs up; before Dinah can ask though, she speaks up again, Dinah feeling relieved at what the taller woman is telling her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s all set”, Helena lets her know, “a contact of a contact will drop something useful at the pizzeria on the corner and I’ll pick it up from there. It’s a device, like an emergency bracelet, and when you push it, I’ll have a corresponding device in my pocket which will react.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice”, Dinah says, feeling relieved at this solution - it might not work, it might not be needed, but it feels good to know Helena will be ready to come rushing to her aid, should she need it, “thank you. I know you don’t have to do this, and I’m grateful you are. Also, that language sounded really nice, was it Italian?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh”, Helena lets out, apparently not having expected the conversation to take this sort of turn, “it was Sicilian, actually, close, but slightly different. I, um… I grew up there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah”, Dinah makes, immediately sensing that there is much more to this story, but not asking - Helena is looking somewhat awkward again, and she doesn’t want to make it worse, “well, it sounded very nice. Your contact’s contact is gonna drop that off tonight?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, in an hour”, Helena confirms, “no worries, I’ll go get it, and we’ll test it before tomorrow night. If you really can kick Sionis in the face, the two of us should be able to take Zsasz and him on if he tries anything, so I hope you were serious.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know how to fight”, Dinah reassures her, then makes a face, “even though I haven’t done it in quite some time. I tried to stay out of trouble, you know? Shouldn’t have let that cop talk me into spying on Sionis for her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, that is a good thing”, Helena tells her, earning a doubtful look, “but if the way through the justice system takes too long, I imagine your cop friend won’t feel bad if Sionis is taken out another way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s not my friend”, Dinah corrects her, “and she might not approve, I don’t know. But if it’s a choice between ‘take out Sionis’ and ‘have my face cut off’, I know what option I’m going for.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Agreed”, Helena says, “and I’ll help you. I’m after Zsasz, but if Sions goes down too, well, bonus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lucky for me that you decided to show up when you did”, Dinah lets her know, smiling slightly now, “it can never hurt to be friends with a professional asskicker.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She holds her fist out, and Helena blanky looks at it, when at her face; Dinah stares back at her for a moment or two, then explains how a fist-bump works, smiling again when they bump fists afterwards, feeling better about her situation already and telling herself that surely nothing can go wrong as long as the two of them will work together.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Have a good weekend everyone, and stay safe! :) I decided to give Helena a few extra contacts for... plot reasons, ahem. Figuring assassins have a good network amongst each other. XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As she steps into the club the next evening, Dinah feels nervous despite how prepared she is - she’s wearing the bracelet Helena has picked up, she knows Helena has the receiver for it in her pocket and will enter the club an hour after her, and they took some time during the day for a bit of sparring, as Helena has wanted to know how good she really is, so now she also knows how good Helena is, and trusts in her abilities.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still her stomach turns when she spots Sionis and Zsasz, remembering how the latter has been smirking the previous day as he’d been busy cutting up the Russian, how happy and content he’s been looking; and she has to struggle to keep a straight face when Sionis waves at her and smiles, as if he hasn’t threatened her with a bloody death a day ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Act like nothing happened</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she reminds herself of the advice both Helena and her cop contact have given her, and even though it makes her stomach clench again, she makes herself wave back at him; then, she retreats to her room backstage and takes in a few breaths, telling herself that she can do this, and that Helena is only the push of a button away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps, she ponders, it is foolish to place so much trust into a woman she only has met a few days ago, but Helena has been nothing but helpful so far, even having opened her home to her when she’s needed it; and it certainly can’t hurt to have a professional assassin on her friend list, she figures, especially not if someone like Sionis turns out to be out to get her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You can do this</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she tells herself as she starts preparing for her set by warming up her voice, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re still good at fighting, apparently, that is like riding a bicycle, and Helena will be there, too. It’ll be fine.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps, she sourly thinks to herself, if she tells this to herself enough times, she’ll even be able to believe it.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Helena sits at the bar again by the time Dinah steps on stage, in her usul seat, and with her usual coke; she’s made sure to keep everything exactly the same, so nobody will have any suspicions, and so far, it seems that it’s working, as nobody is looking at her twice, everyone recognizing her as the weird loner who only ever talks to Dinah and is unfriendly to anyone else who tries to strike up a conversation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, people leave her alone, and she can focus on Dinah on stage; she can tell that Dinah is nervous at first, and the singer’s gaze keeps moving to Sionis, but after the first two songs, she seems more comfortable in her skin, and glances her way every now and then, Helena trying to give her an encouraging smile every time their eyes meet, even though she’s not sure she’s doing a good job, as smiling isn’t something she does all too often. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time her set is over, Dinah looks more relaxed, almost back to her usual self-confident stride when she walks off stage; Helena figures that this is a good sign, letting her gaze wander over the other people at the club now that Dinah is gone, noting that she can spot neither Sionis, nor Zsasz from where she is sitting, but not wanting to look around too openly, remembering what Dinah has told her about attracting Zsasz’ attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fighting the urge to fidget on her seat, as this is not something she usually does, Helena waits for Dinah to join her at the bar; this never has taken her longer than fifteen minutes the past few days, and so, she starts to get nervous when that time passes and Dinah isn’t here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She tells herself to wait another five minutes, just in case, then she’ll sneak backstage and make sure Dinah is fine; and just when she makes that decision, the receiver vibrates in her pocket, signalling that there is no time left for her to spare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t run</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Helena reminds herself to not gain any attention as she slides off her seat, something which is quite difficult though as every muscle in her body has tensed up; this isn’t the first time she willingly walks into danger, but it’s the first time she’s doing it for someone else, and she knows she won’t just put herself at risk if she messes up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, she forces herself to walk at a normal pace, somewhat glad that the way to the backstage leads past the way to the restrooms, so if anyone is looking at her, they will just think she needs to use said restroom; she still glances around to make sure no one watches her before she slips through the door marked </span>
  <b>Private</b>
  <span>, glad to see that the hallway behind it is empty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Fortunately, she also knows which room is Dinah’s, and she moves quick, but quietly, encountering no one on her way there; not bothering to knock, Helena simply pushes the door open, ready for a fight, only to pause the second she steps into the room, registering several things at once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah isn’t there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sionis is, and he’s holding the bracelet, and he’s smiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then the pain as Zsasz steps up to her from behind and jabs the needle into her neck.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Helena wakes to a pounding head and a horribly dry mouth, oddly reminding her of the few times she’s been hungover; whenever this has happened though, she hasn’t woken on an uncomfortable wooden chair, with her hands cuffed behind her, in what appears to be some sort of basement room, and it doesn’t take her long to realize she’s gotten herself into some deep shit now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She can feel the knife she’s got strapped to her calf, hidden beneath her pants, and that is good; with how she’s been chained to the chair though, she can’t get to it, and that’s bad, but Helena knows she’ll figure something out, she always has so far when she has ended up in a dangerous situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She shifts a bit on the chair, simultaneously testing how sturdy it is and if she can get at the hem of her pants; and just when she realizes she can, the at the other end of the small room opens, and Sionis strolls in, followed by Zsasz, the scarred man rubbing his hands gleefully already, revealing what sort of fate they have planned for her without even having to say anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, well, well”, Sionis says, “there you are again. I started to worry, you know, you have been out for quite some time, and there are still a few things I want to know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena doesn’t say anything, just glares daggers at him, but he seems unperturbed; his smile widens as he steps closer - but keeping a safe distance, she notices, probably just in case - and casually puts his hands in his pockets, theatrically looking around the room before he focuses on her again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know what is great about this room?” he asks, not waiting for any answers she might have to that, “it’s right beneath my club, so I don’t have to travel far to get here. And it’s very well isolated, so nobody will hear you scream. You might be stoic-quiet  now, cop, but I doubt you will be when Victor here gets to work.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Cop? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Helena picks up on this, and it must have shown on her face, because Sionis smiles again and nods, feeling very good about himself, she can tell - and he can’t wait to keep talking, she also notices, because he goes on immediately, now practically gloating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I know you’re a cop”, he claims, and this time, Helena manages to keep her face neutral, and prompts him to go on, and keeping her face from showing any emotion is much harder at what he says next.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know everything there is to know. Because Dinah told me everything.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*whistles innocently*<br/>Happy Sunday everyone! Stay safe :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This might make me evil, but yesterday's reactions to the cliffhanger made my day XD Now, I hope you'll all like how I resolve it :) Stay safe everyone!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Yes”, Sionis says when Helena doesn’t visibly react to his words, “my little songbird sang me quite the lovely tune. So, if you want to spare yourself a painful death, I suggest you make this a duet. I’ll have Victor kill you quickly if you do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck you”, Helena says amiably, making sure the movements of her fingers behind her back show as little as possible, moving slowly and with careful precision; Sionis frowns, then nods at Zsasz, the man grinning as he pulls his knife and approaches her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t mess up her face yet”, Sionis says, studying his nails now, “she might still talk. Start somewhere else.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zsasz lets out a vaguely agreeing noise, then bends closer to her, the tip of the knife easily going through the fabric of her shirt and digging into the skin above her ribs; Helena grits her teeth, but doesn’t let out a noise, Sionis frowning at her continued silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zsasz pulls the knife up, his smile widening as the cut lengthens; it’s not deep, Helena can tell, but it still bleeds quite a bit, she can feel it trickle down her stomach and soak her shirt, and it hurts quite a bit, too, but she still doesn’t make a sound, not even when Zsast twists the knife a little as he pulls it back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, cop”, Sionis says, still staying at a safe distance, but Zsasz is still close to her, “you want to talk now? Or shall I ask Victor to cut some more? You got anything to say?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes”, Helena says, and Sionis smiles in pleased surprise while Zsasz actually pouts, clearly having looked forward to slicing her up some more, only for Sionis’ smile to vanish at what Helena says next, “you’re both dead, you just don’t know it yet.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Zsasz has a second to laugh, then she punches him in the face, and he stumbles back, yelping in both surprise and pain; Sionis yelps too - and turns and runs as Helena springs up from the chair, the handcuffs still dangling from one wrist, and kicks Zsasz as hard as she can, sending him down to the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He holds on to his knife, she gives him credit for that, and comes to his feet again quickly, too, but not fast enough to stop her from getting her own knife from the sheath at her calf; he grits his teeth when he sees she’s armed now, too, and there’s a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, one Helena doesn’t miss.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it”, she snarls, raising her knife for emphasis, “you don’t want to go up against someone who can fight back? You’re a fucking coward?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hesitates a second in reply - before he turns and runs as well, following Sionis, and Helena spits a string of Sicilian curses after him, torn between following him to take him out and looking for Dinah.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You can’t leave her behind here,</span>
  </em>
  <span> her more reasonably side wins that debate, even though her raging side is yelling quite loudly at her to go after the two men and finish them off, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sionis will be long gone, who knows what he will do to her if you just leave her here. Go find her, she can’t be far.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She figures that is true - if Sionis really believes she’s a cop Dinah is working with, he’ll want to take his time with her, and he certainly hasn’t killed her quickly, or taken her far from the club for now, so Helena tells herself she has a good chance to find her somewhere nearby, find her and get her out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knows better than to sheathe her knife again, keeping a tight grip on it instead, just in case Zsasz changes his mind and comes after her again, or jumps out at her from somewhere; the basement she finds herself in as she leaves the small room is surprisingly well lit, and quiet, signalling that Sionis and Zsasz have either run quite far by now or are hiding somewhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Annoyed at her failure to take Zsasz down for good, Helena kicks the nearest door open, finding a rather cramped storage room behind it; she attacks two more doors with her heavy boot, with no luck, then finally, behind the fourth door, finds another room much like the one she’s woken up in, small and with thick walls - and a chair in the middle of the room, to which Dinah has been cuffed the same way they had done to her, the singer’s eyes widening when she sees her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Helena, oh my God”, she says, and Helena isn’t sure if she’s talking about her general appearance in this room or about the fact that she is hurt and bleeding, but before she can decide, Dinah continues, speaking frantically now, as if she is scared she won’t have a chance to get all the words out otherwise, “I didn’t tell him anything, I swear, I don’t know what he told you but I didn’t say anything…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know”, Helena says when Dinah has to pause for a breath, the singer practically slumping in relief, “he fucked up, I’ll explain later. Hold still.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pulls another hair pin from where she keeps them hidden at her back, fastened to the hem of her pants, and glad she always brings more than one - the one she has used for her own handcuffs is too bent to be used again, but she’s got a couple more, and shouldn’t need more than the one she already has in hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully, Dinah does hold still, even though Helena can tell she’s eager to get out, just from how tense she is; and so, she works fast, easily unlocking the cuffs, and the second her hands are free, Dinah jumps up from the chair, then surprises Helena by throwing both arms around her and pulling her in for a brief, but tight hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you”, she says, while Helena just blinks, not having expected this the slightest; she needs a moment to regain her wits, then nods, clearing her throat before she vaguely gestures at the door, Dinah eying the knife she is still holding, but not making a comment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should get out of here”, Helena tells her, “and fast, Sionis and his lapdog both ran off, but they might come back to finish what they started.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah just nods, and takes the lead, knowing the way out; Helena briefly wonders why, if she has been down her before, but doesn’t ask, filing the question away for later, figuring that now is not the best time to talk. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They move fast, but quietly, and Helena is pleasantly surprised at how quiet Dinah actually is; this allows her to listen for any noises Sionis or Zsasz might make, but the basement remains quiet, they both are either far gone or still hiding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, Helena considers to go looking for them, then decides against it though - she doesn’t have her crossbow, Sionis and Zsasz know this area better than she does, she’s simply not prepared enough, and she’s hurt, too, not badly, but she know that the cut, shallow as it is, can make fighting difficult, especially with the two men knowing it is there, if one of them lands a lucky hit there, the pain might be enough to make her stagger, and that can be deadly if up against the wrong sort of people.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s not quite sure Zsasz is this wrong sort of people, after how he ran when she’s had the chance to fight back, but she doesn’t want to find out the hard way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah leads the way to a heavy steel door, out of the basement, she explains, and onto the street, not back into the club; and once outside, Helena glances left and right to make sure nobody is waiting for them there, then takes the lead again as she hurries to where she’s parked her bike, Dinah right behind her, hopping on after Helena has started the engine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hold on tight”, Helena instructs her, and Dinah nods, then lets out a vaguely agreeing noise when she realizes Helena can’t see that, “I’m not gonna stick to the speed limit until we’re at a safe distance from this club.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah wraps both arms around her waist in response, and Helena needs a moment before she can get the bike moving - it’s been quite a while since she has been touched in any kind of gentle or nice way, and this feels nicer than she wants to admit to herself, the fact that she can feel Dinah pressed against her back not exactly helping.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She takes in a slow, controlled breath, then dares to finally start driving; and as she has said, she drives fast, speeding away from the club, getting them both to safety, even though they both know that this is far from over.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Helena doesn’t drive straight to her apartment, but takes a few detours, until she can be sure no one is following them; only once she has convinced herself of that, she dares driving to her home, parking the bike in the garage of the building, so nobody can see it standing outside and connect it to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The ride in the elevator is silent, but somehow not awkward or uncomfortable; from the corner of her eye, Helena notices that Dinah keeps glancing at her, but the singer doesn’t say anything, and neither does Helena, the silence only being broken when they are in her apartment and Dinah speaks up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re hurt”, she states, making a face as she got some blood onto her hands when she’s been holding on to Helena during the bike ride, “that should be cleaned, at least.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not bad”, Helena says at once, her standard response to someone pointing out she’s hurt - she thinks back to a job she did back in Sicily, a job which almost had gone wrong and during which she had taken a bullet to the thigh, and had bled all over the place, even back then when she’d been about to pass out from blood loss and shock, this had been her response, “I punched Zsasz in his ugly mug before he could do any real damage.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn, I wish I could have seen that”, Dinah sighs wistfully, earning a slight smile from the taller woman, “but really, that proves my point. You really want to leave a wound caused by Zsasz’ knife untreated? Who knows where that has been.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ew”, Helena lets out, making Dinah nod in agreement, “yeah, okay, good point.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got a first aid kit, I presume”, Dinah states, and Helena lets her know it’s in the bathroom; and before she can say anything else, Dinah has gone to get it, already having opened it and looking through it when she returns. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can do that myself, you know”, Helena points out when Dinah opens the little bottle of disinfectant, “you don’t have to…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me”, Dinah tells her, pouring the disinfectant onto a wad of cotton as she speaks, “least I can do after you got my ass out of there, you could have just left me there and we both know that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, no”, Helena protests at once, not arguing back though when Dinah gestures at her shirt to get her to lift it, pulling it up instead of trying to stop her, “come on, you don’t think I believed Sionis when he said you talked?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know”, Dinah honestly replies, giving Helena an apologetic look when she touches the soaked cotton to the wound and the taller woman pulls in a sharp breath, “I don’t know you that well, you are aware of that, right. And I had no idea what he would tell you so… But I do know he’s good at manipulating people.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, he failed this time”, Helena tells her, glad when Dinah finishes her work with the disinfectant and doesn’t insist on bandaging the wound, apparently agreeing that it’s shallow enough so a bandage isn’t needed, “he actually messed up pretty fast. He thought I’m your police contact, kept calling me cop.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh”, Dinah lets out, “huh. Well, I guess it does make sense, if he suspected I’m working against him with the police, and suddenly you show up and we hang out every night… Yeah. Lucky for me, then. But I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t have believed him even if he had said something closer to the truth”, Helena lets her know, earning another bright smile, “we don’t know each other that well, yeah, but you don’t seem like the person who’d sell out an ally like that. And I didn’t get dragged into this, as you put it, I jumped right in, going after Zsasz.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This makes Dinah curious again about what Zsasz did to have Helena on his trail like this, but she figures asking won’t get her anywhere - Helena does seem to open up a bit more towards her, and seems to start trusting her, but she figures that her reason for going after Zsasz is very personal, and she’ll reveal it when she’s ready.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn, I wish I had hit him harder”, Helena sighs, distracting her from these thoughts, “now Sionis and he will be on the lookout for both of us. Gonna make it harder to take him down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Harder, but not impossible?” Dinah guesses, and Helena immediately nods; this makes Dinah wonder again about more details, but again she doesn’t ask - and this time, it turns out there’s no need to, as Helena speaks on after a moment, her words prompting the singer to raise an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve taken out a man who never went anywhere without his three bodyguards”, Helena tells her, and Dinah is not quite sure if she should be frightened now or impressed, “unlike Zsasz, he didn’t know I’m coming, but his guards did react quite fast. Didn’t save him, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh”, Dinah lets out, deciding she’ll be impressed instead of scared, as so far, Helena hasn’t given her any reason to actually be afraid of her, having helped her and even having rescued her a short while ago, “good job? Let’s hope it’ll work out with Zsasz too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It will”, Helena tells her at once, sounding quite confident all of a sudden, the usual awkwardness she always seems to display to some degree for the moment gone, “because failure is not an option.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, okay”, Dinah lets out, and Helena seems to realize that she’s just sounded like the cliché hero of a bad action movie, as she clears her throat and goes back to being awkward, “let me know if I can help in any way? Cause I’m in too deep at this point, anyway, it’s not like I can get Sionis much more pissed at me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not sure you can be of much help”, Helena says, prompting Dinah to grimace, her reaction in turn letting the other woman realize that she perhaps has been a bit right now, and she hurries to amend that mistake, “um, I mean, no offense but… I’m sort of used to working alone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it can never hurt to have backup”, Dinah points out, Helena shrugging, then nodding, “so think about it, alright? Sionis wants me dead anyway now, so I might as well do something about it, now that I got such a capable friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To her surprise and slight amusement, Helena blushes visibly at being called her friend, doesn’t try to contradict her though; she just nods again instead, then clears her throat before she declares she’s in need of a drink now, and asks Dinah if she wants one, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah nods immediately to that, watching Helena make her way to the kitchen; she’s calmer than she probably should be, after the day she’s had, but on the other hand, she’s out of danger, for now, and she doesn’t have to do any of this alone, so she figures it will be okay, as long as Helena and she stick together.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Damn, I really do have a thing for Dinah patching Helena up... oh well XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“So”, Helena says in the next morning, as they are sitting at her table having coffee - and Dinah is stretching this way and that, her back not happy about another night spent on Helena’s couch, and pretending not to notice how Helena is watching her every move, like a hawk, “I thought about what you said yesterday. About wanting to help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes?” Dinah says, curious where this will go now, but having to wait a bit longer for an answer, as Helena takes a sip of her coffee before she goes on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve shown that you’re capable at hand to hand”, she tells Dinah, earning a proud smile, the singer figuring that this is quite the praise from someone with Helena’s level of skill, “but one can always be better. So I thought, maybe I should teach you a few things. Mostly moves against knives, since Zsasz seems to like them so much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, good thinking”, Dinah agrees at once, and she is certainly not just doing so because she likes the thought of sparring with Helena again, of being close to her, “and it’s not like I got anything else to do, so I might as well get prepared.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have no training knife here”, Helena says with a bit of regret, earning a raised eyebrow, “but a butter knife will do, they’re usually not that sharp.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Training knife”, Dinah echoes, “you own such a thing? In principle, I mean, if it’s not here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well yes”, Helena says, as if it is the most normal thing in the world, “blunt, but with the same weight as a proper knife. Good for training, as the name implies.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, so”, Dinah ponders, adding up the little bits of information Helena has revealed about herself so far, “people in Sicily have training knives, and apparently also crossbows and know how get pretty good at hand to hand combat, not to mention the hairpin and handcuff thing. You know, I’ve always wanted to visit Europe, and Italy, cause pizza and pasta, but now I’m not so sure anymore about that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, no no no”, Helena quickly reassures her, “people who can do these things are… not the norm there, you know. My upbringing was… quite… unusual.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll say”, Dinah replies with a small laugh, happy when Helena returns a little smile of her own, “I mean, Gotham probably isn’t the best to grow up in either, but we didn’t have training knives when I was little.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, right now, I don’t have one either”, Helena points out, making Dinah chuckle again, “but we’ll make do with what we have. There’s a few moves I can teach you, in case Zsasz gets too close so you can’t land a proper kick.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The thought of Zsasz getting so close to her makes Dinah grimace, but she nods anyway; and so, after breakfast, Helena declares they should change into something more comfortable for training, offering her some of her own clothes to wear as she’s still in the sleepwear Helena also has provided her with, Dinah trying to hide her excitement as she goes to the bathroom to shower and change, looking forward to the training session more than she would have expected</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“Okay”, Helena says a short while later, handing her a butter knife, “fair warning, I’ve only ever been taught how to fight, never had to teach anyone, so I might not be very good at this. Just… try to come at me and I’ll show you some moves? I promise I won’t hurt you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright”, Dinah shrugs, figuring that Helena has enough control over own body and strength to really not injure her on accident; she pauses, tries to imagine how Zsasz would come at her with a knife, then raises the blunt one Helena has provided her with and simply rushes her, deciding that is a good start.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she knows what is happening, Helena has grabbed her, twisted her around and her arm up behind her back, and keeps her locked in this hold, barely out of breath while all Dinah is do can pull in a startled gasp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay”, Helena says, “I’ll show you how to do that in slow motion. I won’t do it now, but if you twist his wrist in a certain way when you have him in that hold, his fingers will go numb and he’ll drop the knife.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah can only let out a vaguely agreeing noise, but not because she’s in pain - she’s seen Helena is in good shape, but now she can actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>it, the strength of her grip and the tense muscle where her arm rests against her back, and it does have quite the effect on her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, she has mixed feelings when Helena lets go of her, she’s relieved that she can straighten up again, but she immediately misses the feeling of the other woman’s body so close to hers; and just as immediately, she scolds herself for this, telling herself that now is not the time for such thoughts and feelings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It gets decidedly harder to keep these thoughts and feelings out of her brain and other parts of her body when Helena takes the knife from her and starts going through a step-by-step instruction on how to do what she just did, and their bodies are very close for quite some time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow, Dinah still manages to concentrate enough to actually learn the move, and apparently faster than Helena had expected her to, as the taller woman looks pleasantly surprised; and she tells her just this once Dinah can pull it off flawlessly, her words making the singer smile with pride.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re a fast learner”, Helena compliments her, “good job. Let’s repeat it a few more times though so you’ll be more secure, you might need to pull it off without thinking in case Zsasz comes at you. Or someone else with a knife does.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah nods her agreement, and takes in a deep breath as she steadies herself, planting her feet slightly apart the way Helena has instructed her to; and this time, the taller woman surprises her by not approaching her slowly, the way she has done before, but actually rushing her, clearly in an attempt to make it a bit more realistic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She doesn’t hesitate though, but grabs her forearm the way she has been shown and, using her own momentum against her, attempts to turn her so she can twist her arm up behind her back; something goes wrong this time though, and suddenly, they both are falling, Helena letting out a grunt when her back hits the floor and another, slightly breathless one when Dinah ends up on top of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my God, I’m sorry”, Dinah starts, embarrassed and worried she might have hurt her, “I didn’t… mean to…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their eyes meet, and she trails off, suddenly very aware of how close they are too each other; Helena’s thigh is between her legs, and somehow, the taller woman’s arms have ended up around her, probably in an attempt to stop them from falling - not that it worked out so well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a few moments, they just look at each other, and Dinah swears she notices Helena’s breath hitch; her gaze flickers down to the other woman’s lips, but before she can do more than look at them, Helena noisily clears her throat and the moment is gone, Dinah feeling herself flush as she comes to her feet again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry”, she says, holding out one hand to help Helena up, even though she knows Helena technically doesn’t need her help; and certainly, Helena knows this too, but grabs her hand anyway and lets her pull her up, giving her a lopsided smile once they’re both on their feet again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It happens”, she says, and Dinah wonders if she is imagining the slightly breathless sound of her voice or if it is wishful thinking, “you don’t want to know how often I ended up on the ground during training. Or got hit in the face. So… shall we go on?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah nods, and Helena picks up the knife, gets ready for another try; and as they go through it again and again, Dinah wonders if she imagined that they have been close to kissing or if it was real, honest enough with herself to admit she wants it to be real, but having no idea if Helena does, too, and no clue how to find out.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Not sure training knives are a thing, but if they are, Helena would know, lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As it turns out, Helena is not only patient at teaching, but quite good at it, as well; she spends most of the day showing Dinah moves and techniques, with only a short break for a light lunch, and by the time they finally decide they are done, Dinah knows she’ll feel every single muscle in the next day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit”, she groans as she slumps down onto the couch, gratefully accepting the cooled coke Helena offers, and at the same time feeling slight resentment as Helena doesn’t seem affected by what they have done all day at all, “I’ll feel that tomorrow. Everywhere. Right  now, muscles I didn’t know existed are hurting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That will be worse tomorrow”, Helena tells her, and Dinah pouts, letting her know she’s not being very helpful; Helena just shrugs, she’s not one to give false reassurance, only to jump when suddenly, Dinah yelps “fuck!” and practically springs to her feet again, apparently having found some leftover energy somewhere within her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My phone!” she adds at the way Helena stares at her, “and all my other stuff! It’s still at the club, my cop contact must think I’m dead by now!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn”, Helena realizes she’s right, “you’re right, I completely forgot about that. And we can’t just go back there and get it…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Which wouldn’t be so bad if I knew her number by heart”, Dinah sighs, slumping back down onto the couch now that the first shock is wearing off, “but I don’t. I don’t even know her last name. Damn, what am I gonna do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you know anyone who could get it for you?” Helena wants to know, the first thing which comes to her mind, but it doesn’t seem too far-fetched - unlike her, Dinah is good with people, and certainly has more friends than an awkward loner on a quest for vengeance, “just grab your bag and sneak it out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do”, Dinah sighs, “but nobody whose number I know by heart. Dammit, why do phones have these stupid built-in phonebooks?! And Sionis knows whom I got along with well, he’ll suspect something if he sees them there, so it would have to be someone I don’t know that well…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She trails off as an idea hits her, and frowns to herself - it’s risky, but Sionis will never expect her to ask that person for help, and it wouldn’t be unusual for her to walk in areas she shouldn’t be in, either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have an idea”, she tells Helena, “but it involves going into one of the seedier parts of town, and asking a somewhat crazy person for help. Say, have you ever heard of Harley Quinn?”</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“Rumour has it that she often hangs out here”, Dinah tells Helena as they walk, close to the shady part of town she’s mentioned - Helena has offered to take them there on her bike, but Dinah knows this part of town better than she wants to admit, and knows the bike wouldn’t last an hour there unsupervised, “let’s hope those rumours are true, or we’re back to square one.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can still try to find someone to help out”, Helena says with a shrug, glancing around as they walk - it is an unpleasant area of town, small groups of people hanging around and watching them go by, and she’s glad she’s got her crossbow hidden beneath her coat and several knives strapped to her body, concealed as well beneath her clothing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got contacts”, she adds, glaring at a man who’s eying Dinah with a bit too much interest, but fortunately, her glare seems to work well enough, as he scowls and looks away again, “if this doesn’t work out, maybe one of them can help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s keep that in mind”, Dinah nods, then surprises her by suddenly reaching over and grasping her hand, “but just so you know, I hope we won’t have to do that, because I feel like I owe you more than enough already, and I don’t want to add to that pile even further.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t owe me anything”, Helena protests, skillfully ignoring the flash of heat which rushes through her when Dinah squeezes her hand, even though this gets harder when Dinah doesn’t let go as Helena has expected her too, but simply keeps holding on to her, as if it’s the most normal thing in the world - and maybe, Helena ponders, it is, for people who’ve grown up normally, maybe friends walk around holding hands all the time and she just doesn’t know it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes I do”, Dinah insists, giving her a hard look when she opens her mouth to protest again, “and don’t try to deny that again. You looked after me after Sionis cut up the Russian guy and you saved me when they had us both, so I owe you. Big time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine”, Helena sighs, and Dinah pumps her free fist in triumph, “okay, you win, you owe me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ha”, Dinah lets out in triumph, and Helena finds herself smiling; Dinah grins back and winks at her, then stops in front of what has to be the dingiest bar Helena as ever seen, and that says something, after some of the questionable locations she has visited during her quest for vengeance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is it”, Dinah states, looking at the outside of the bar as skeptical as Helena herself feels, “man, this looks like a dump out here already. Let’s hope the inside is better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unsurprisingly, it does not look better inside, it actually looks worse; Helena’s boots stick to the floor as she walks, and she’s suddenly glad Dinah is still holding her hand, not liking the way some of the male guests are looking at the singer and at herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s not many other women they can look at, Helena notices as Dinah glances around, looking for this Harley Quinn person - Helena has heard of her, it is practically impossible to be around the shadier parts of Gotham and not hear of her - but has no idea what she looks like, so she has to leave the search to Dinah, relieved again when the singer tugs at her hand and says “over there!”. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She leads Helena to the bar, the taller woman glaring at several men on the way, to a woman about their age, with startlingly pale skin and multi-coloured hair; she’s talking to some bulky guy, stops and turns on her seat though when Dinah says “Harley?”, blinking at her in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, she seems to recognize her, as she suddenly smiles brightly; her mood shifts so quickly that Helena is taken aback, making it her turn to blink while Harley nods as if to herself, then beams at Dinah again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hey, I know you!” she claims, “you’re that singer nobody listens to!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Helena protests, Dinah giving her a brief reassuring look to calm her down, feeling oddly touched and satisfied when she saw that flicker of rage in the taller woman’s eyes, knowing that this time it was on her behalf; Helena grumbles, but says nothing else, Harley giving her a critical look before her gaze travels to their still joined hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oooh”, she lets out knowingly, “protective girlfriend, huh? Meant no offense. What do you want?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need a favour”, Dinah tells her, and Harley raises an eyebrow, “I know you’ve been to the club before. I need you to… get something for me from there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You work there”, Harley points out, “why don’t you go get it yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t work there anymore”, Dinah corrects her, while Helena belatedly realizes that Dinah hasn’t made any comment about Harley assuming she was her girlfriend, feeling a bit lightheaded at the thought; Harley lets out a thoughtful “hmmm”, but before she can say anything else, the door flies open, and a tall, bulky man practically storms in, shouting her name as he glances around wildly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh fuck”, Harley lets out, momentarily looking nervous - before she looks at Dinah again, and smiles brightly, gesturing at the man just as he spots her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell you what”, she frantically says, “you help me get rid of that guy, and I’ll help you, alright?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah gives Helena a questioning look, the taller woman shrugging, then nodding; from what she has heard, Harley can take care of herself, but the guy is quite big, and quite angry, and it probably won’t hurt for Harley to have backup.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And as he starts moving towards her, he growls and pulls a knife from his belt, and Helena realizes this might be more dangerous than she initially has thought.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I &lt;3 protective Helena.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Good thing we practiced that”, Dinah whispers to Helena, not taking her eyes off the man for a second; the other patrons at the bar hurriedly get out of his way, not wanting to end up between him and his intended target, and Helena almost automatically lets go of Dinah’s hand so she can step in front of her, she knows Dinah can look out for herself, but the need to make sure she’ll be fine by taking care of this herself is too strong to ignore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least, she seems to look intimidating enough, because the guy slows his approach, then stops a few feet away; he glares at her, the knife glinting in the bar’s dim light, and presses his words out between grit teeth, Dinah and Harley both past her shoulders so they won’t miss anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get out of my way”, he snarls, using the knife to gesture at Harley, “this is between her and me. None of your goddamn business.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We got business with her, though”, Helena tells him, keeping her eyes on him so she won’t miss any signals, “so sorry, no can do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tenses in response, and another person might have been startled when he rushes her a second later, and might have gotten hurt; Helena sees it coming though, easily sidesteps his outstretched arm with the knife and grabs and twists, executes the move she has taught Dinah flawlessly, the guy yelping when his arm gets twisted up behind his back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I suggest you hold still”, Helena suggests in an amiable tone, making it look quite easy even though her own muscle bulges as he strains against her grip, “or I’ll break your arm. You don’t want a broken arm, do you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She twists his arm a bit further, and the exact thing she told Dinah about during their training happens - his fingers go numb, and he drops the knife, Helena quickly kicking it closer to Dinah and Harley, out of his reach, glad when Dinah reacts fast and picks it up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, so”, she adds, the man groaning in pain at this point, “I’ll let go of now, and you’ll straighten up and walk out. If not, I imagine you got a very good view of my boots right now, and yes, they are as hard and heavy as they look. You don’t want to taste them, you do what I just suggested.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She lets go and takes a step back, allowing him to straighten up; rubbing his wrist, and flexing his fingers, he glares at her, and she holds his gaze with cold calm, and that is perhaps what convinces him, as he lets out an unarticulated grunt before he turns and walks off, not even looking back once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow”, Harley comments, Helena turning to face them just in time to catch the appreciative look Dinah is sending her way, “that was hot. You’re lucky you already snatched her up, singer, or I’d totally hit on her now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name’s Dinah”, Dinah tells her, while Helena flushes again at those unexpected words, “and yeah, too bad for you, you better not set your sights on her or there’ll be trouble. Now, we did our part of the bargain, let’s talk about what you can do for us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She explains what she wants Harley to do, while Helena just stands there, wondering if she has missed something or if this is some sort of ruse, knowing she has to wait with finding out though, there is no way she can ask Dinah as long as anyone else is around to hear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I can do that”, Harley decides once Dinah has finished explaining, “doesn’t sound too difficult. Meet me in two hours?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah figures this is a reasonable amount of time, and agrees, then gives Harley the address of the pizzeria Helena has used as a pick-up point before; Harley agrees to meet them there, then hurries off to fulfil her part of the deal, Dinah hooking her arm through Helena’s, satisfied how well this has gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, now all we can do is wait”, she says, making Helena nod as the smaller woman lead the way back out of the bar, “let’s hope this will work out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah”, Helena agrees, and then the words burst out of her before she can stop herself, even though they make her cheeks heat up again, “you didn’t tell Harley she’s wrong. When she thought I’m your girlfriend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cause she would have hit on you if I had”, Dinah tells her, then seems to realize that this perhaps has been a bit out of line, as she suddenly looks worried, “wait, you’re not angry I did that, right? Cause I meant no offense, or to meddle or anything…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no”, Helena hurriedly reassures her, “I’m not, it’s okay, I just… didn’t expect that. I don’t think I’m… girlfriend material.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She lets out an awkward laugh, then forces herself to stop when she hears herself and realizes how awkward exactly that sounded; and a second later, she wonders if it is possible to blush so hard that one spontaneously combusts, as Dinah is giving her what can only be described as a once-over, then looks at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk curling her lips which makes her heart beat faster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know”, Dinah says, her fingers lightly curling around the taller woman’s biceps and giving a light squeeze, “I know at least one person who would disagree. Shall we get moving, then?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena feels oddly breathless, and her mouth is weirdly dry, so she can only nod; Dinah smirks at her again, then gets moving, still holding on to her arm, and so Helena trots along next to her, her mind running wild, but on a rather monotonous track. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Did she just hit on me? She totally hit on me. Why would she hit on me? Can I ask her that? No, oh my God, you can’t ask her that Helena, don’t be stupid. But she hit on me. She totally hit on me. What do I do? Am I supposed to do anything? She’s pretty. She’s very beautiful, she could have anyone. So why would she want me? Is this just for fun? Or is she seriously hitting on me? She totally hit on me.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Helloooo, earth to Helena”, Dinah finally gets through to her, waving her free hand in front of her face, and Helena belatedly realizes that, while her mind has been going wild, they have arrived at the apartment building, “we’re here. Unlock the door?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, um, yeah”, Helena babbles, then forces herself to stop and to take a deep breath; and a moment later, Dinah gives her a worried look, then gently touches her hand, making her look at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, you know”, Dinah says, the genuine concern in her eyes only making Helena feel more lightheaded, “with… with what I said. I’m sorry if I did, you seem so spaced out since then so…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s not your fault”, Helena sighs as she finds her keys at last, and unlocks the door, pulling it open and letting Dinah enter first, “that’s all on me. I’m just… not used to… being told such things.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh”, Dinah lets out, finding that hard to believe, and at the same time wondering if Helena actually isn’t aware of how attractive she is, “well… good to know? I mean, I’m glad I didn’t freak you out. Cause I like you, I wouldn’t want to freak you out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like you too”, Helena says at once, and Dinah beams at her; and after a moment, Helena smiles back at her, and her heart skips an excited beat in her chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was so not part of the plan, she thinks to herself as she follows Dinah up the stairs, but she can’t say that she’s unhappy about how things are working out.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yay, weekend! More time to write about those two dorks XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As it turns out, Harley holds up her end of the bargain, showing up at the pizzeria exactly on time, and proudly waving around Dinah’s handbag, reassuring Helena that she checked if her phone is in it and that it’s there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks”, Helena says as she takes the bag from her, Dinah waiting nearby at a spot where she can keep an eye on her, just in case this goes sour, “that was helpful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Happy to hear!” Harley beams at her, “just like you were with that guy, so thanks again for that. And say Hi to Dinah from me, I know she’s lurking across the street.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um”, Helena lets out, but before she can think of anything else to say, Harley waves at her, then turns and practically skips out of the restaurant, Helena blinking as she watches her go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your order, Miss”, the waiter distracts her, handing her a pizza box she has ordered mostly so she won’t just stand here and wait without buying anything; she thanks him, pays and tips him, then goes outside to meet Dinah, the singer rolling her eyes the moment Helena steps through the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Obviously, I’m not good at being stealthy”, she says at once, “cause Harley shouted Hi Dinah! to me when she left. But she brought it, yes?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She did”, Helena confirms, handing the bag to her, “the phone’s in there, too. She didn’t say anything about Sionis, so let’s hope he didn’t notice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah grimaces and nods, then pushes thoughts of Sionis and his creepy lapdog out of her mind; all she wants is to check her phone, but she knows it’s better to wait until they are back at Helena’s place, and this is what she does, even though it is hard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The moment they are inside, she pulls out the phone though and looks; miraculously, the battery hasn’t died, and the screen lights up, Dinah letting out a groan as she sees how many messages she’s gotten since Sionis and Zsasz have made their move against Helena and herself, the messages getting more frantic as time has gone by and she hasn’t replied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>If you got yourself killed I’ll kill you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the last one says, a bit nonsensical, and Dinah sees it has been sent just ten minutes ago; and so, she quickly types out a response, adding as much information as possible without giving away anything about Helena and her involvement in this, not sure what the taller woman would think of it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she types, while Helena starts eating the pizza she initially hasn’t wanted, </span>
  <em>
    <span>got in a bit of trouble but am fine now. But Sionis knows. Can’t go back, had to have friend to get my bag. Sorry.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just fucking glad you’re alive</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the reply comes very fast, and Dinah finds herself raising an eyebrow at a cop using such language, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you at a safe place now?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yes</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dinah confirms, taking the slice of pizza Helena offers her and giving her a grateful look before she focuses on the phone again, </span>
  <em>
    <span>staying with a friend. Sorry can’t help you out any longer.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Again, just glad you’re fine,</span>
  </em>
  <span> the reply comes fast again as well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and good job on what we did get on him from you. Very helpful. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Good to know</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dinah replies, then puts the phone aside, figuring they are done for now; and it turns out she was right, as the screen doesn’t light up anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, calmed the cop down”, she tells Helena, taking another bite of pizza before she continues, “she must have been really upset, cause she used the f-word in a text! Didn’t know there are cops who would do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Some in Sicily probably”, Helena says, then pauses and reconsiders, “well… the Sicilian equivalent, I suppose.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” Dinah wants to know, suddenly curious, “I don’t think I ever heard someone swear in Sicilian before. Come on, teach me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure you want to start with that”, Helena replies with a small laugh, Dinah beaming at her, proud she has managed to make her laugh, “and not with something a bit more… I don’t know, wholesome?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look at me”, Dinah says, gesturing at herself, “do I look wholesome and pure to you? Come on, teach me. Please? I’ll pout if you don’t. Don’t underestimate the power of my pout.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena raises an eyebrow, and Dinah actually does pout, going as far as batting her eyelashes; and to her amusement, Helena quickly relents, shaking her head as she raises her hands, as if to ward off the adorableness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay”, she says, Dinah grinning immediately, “fine, I’ll teach you, just stop looking at me like that. It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>vafangol</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Vafangol</span>
  </em>
  <span>”, Dinah repeats, “nice. Now I can cuss out the mob in case I’ll ever need it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Might come in handy some day”, Helena comments, earning another grin and nod from the singer; then, Dinah helps herself to another slice of pizza before she speaks up again, sounding quite excited, considering the time and the tiring day they’ve had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Teach me something else”, she says, “please? Just a few phrases for daily use?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, um”, Helena lets out, not quite having expected this, “um… well, if you want someone to get going, that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>annamu</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And there’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>veni ca</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that means come here, and there’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>bona jurnata</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that means have a nice day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Man, that is a nice sounding language”, Dina comments, smiling as she leans back into the couch, and Helena blurts out another phrase before she can stop herself, the filter between her mouth and brain is questionable in such situations on the best of days and apparently shortens out completely now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Trùoppu bedda</span>
  </em>
  <span>”, she blurts out, and Dinah gives her a curious look, the same emotion in her voice when she replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What does that mean?” she wants to know, “I hope you didn’t just insult me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I would never”, Helena protests, and for a moment, she considers lying, not quite sure how Dinah might react if she tells her what she just said; then, she remembers what Dinah said to her earlier that evening, about her being girlfriend material, and decides to be honest, clearing her throat and feeling her cheeks heat up as she continues. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It, um, it means you’re beautiful”, she says, finding it hard to look Dinah in the eye; to her relief though, the singer doesn’t react negatively the slightest, even from the corner of her eye as she studies her feet, Helena can see the bright smile which curls her lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you”, Dinah says, in an unusually soft and gentle tone; Helena finally dares to look up at her again, cheeks still burning, and finds the singer smiling at her, and after a moment, she smiles back, her heart skipping a beat yet again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was so not part of the plan, she thinks to herself again, but she can’t say that she minds.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't speak Sicilian, I got it all off of Google. So forgive me please if it's wrong. XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s nine, and she high fives the bodyguard as she gets out of the limousine, just home after another day at school.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s nine, and she knows what is about to happen, she hasn’t known when it did happen, but she knows now, but that doesn’t help, she’s powerless to stop it, powerless to change anything.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Her feet carry her into the house even though she doesn’t want to go in there, it’s like she’s a passenger in this younger version of herself; she sees her family in the living room, all of them, and she wants to scream at them to get out, to run before it’s too late.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Her younger self says nothing though, and everything plays out as it has back then, Gallante and his firing squad, and they open fire, and people fall around her and blood splashes on her, hot and sticky and she sees her mother fall her eyes are open but empty and blood trickles from her nose and mouth and soaks the carpet--</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah wakes up and for a moment isn’t sure what has actually woken her, if it has been some sort of noise or something else; she hasn’t been having any bad dreams, which is surprising, considering how the last few days have been, and yet here she is, awake for no clear reason in the middle of the night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then she hears it again, a low, strangled noise from Helena’s bedroom, and all at once she realizes what has woken her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She soundlessly gets up from the couch, not quite sure if Helena is alone in there or if someone has gotten into the apartment and is about to choke her to death, which would be an unpleasant explanation for the noise; if this is the reason though, Dinah wants to surprise whoever is responsible, and so she moves as quietly as she can, sneaking to the door, glad that it’s ajar and not closed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, she pushes it open, her eyes having adjusted enough to the dark by now to let her make out the details of the room; she’s relieved to see that there is no one in the room attacking Helena, the taller woman is lying alone in her bed, but she’s tossing and turning, and lets out the noise again, a clear sign that her sleep is not restful.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, Dinah is unsure what to do - her first thought is to wake her, but she has no idea how Helena might react to this, and she fears there’s a very real possibility she might get punched, but then Helena lets the noise out again, and sounds so pained that Dinah can’t take it another minute, deciding that perhaps getting punched is better than hearing this one more time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Helena”, she tries with just her voice, figuring this might be safer than touching the assassin; and apparently, even though the nightmare seems to have her in a firm grasp, Helena starts at Dinah’s voice, eyes flying open, and pulls in a watery breath, staring at her as if she’s seeing her for the first time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay”, Dinah quickly says, before Helena, in her sleep-addled state, can decide that she’s a threat and throw a punch after all, “you, um… it sounded like you were having a bad dream, I wanted to make sure you’re okay…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...I’m fine”, Helena says after a moment, getting out of bed a second later as if to contradict herself, “excuse me for a moment…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She vanishes into the adjoining bathroom, and Dinah feels a bit awkward, just standing there; so she sits on the bed after a moment and absent-mindedly starts toying with the blanket, the sound of running water coming from the bathroom for a short while before Helena comes back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You want to talk about it?” Dinah offers, just needing one look to know that Helena is not fine, no matter what she’s claimed a minute ago; Helena shrugs, then surprises her by sitting down next to her, once again finding it hard to look at her though, Dinah after a moment daring to reach over and grasp her hand, glad when she doesn’t pull away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to”, she adds, “but it might help. Assuming this wasn’t your usual run of the mill weird nightmare with no context, like the one where all your teeth fall out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To her relief, this works the way she has wanted it to, as Helena manages a tiny smile; it’s not much, the corners of her mouth barely raising, but enough that Dinah can see it, the singer smiling back at her as she gently squeezes her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve never told you my last name, have I”, Helena says after a few moments, and Dinah frowns as she thinks about this, then realizes it’s true - she knows her first name, but her last one has never come up, and she hasn’t seen anything in the apartment which might have given it away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure it will ring a bell even if I tell you”, Helena adds, Dinah focusing on her again, “it… has been a while ago. But, well… it’s Bertinelli.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It has been a while ago, but Helena can tell Dinah immediately recognizes the name, from the startled little gasp she pulls in and the way her eyes widen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes”, she says before Dinah has the chance to say something, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> Bertinelli family.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit”, Dinah says, then seems to realize that perhaps, this isn’t the most appropriate reaction, her eyes going wide again as she briefly claps one hand over her mouth, then hurries to apologize, “I’m sorry, that… was inappropriate. But… when that happened… they said…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They said the whole family got wiped out, yes”, Helena confirms, “that was Gallante’s goal, and that was what they let him believe. Um… with </span>
  <em>
    <span>they </span>
  </em>
  <span>I mean the guy who found me alive, snuck me out of there and took me to Sicily. Where his father and brother raised me, and… taught me. And made sure no one here found out I’m still alive.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit”, Dinah lets out again, thinking back to what she knows about the Bertinelli massacre - it’s not much, she has been only eight when it happened, but it had been impossible back then to not hear of it, the news had been full of it for weeks, “I don’t remember much but… how old were you? Nine? Ten?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nine”, Helena confirms that Dinah remembers correctly; the singer can only swallow heavily at that - she’s lost her own mother at an even younger age, but unlike Helena, she hadn’t been there to see it, and she can’t imagine what it must do to someone’s psyche, seeing their whole family get gunned down like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I trained in Sicily until a few months ago”, Helena adds, Dinah squeezing her hand again, not having an idea what she can say, knowing there are no words which can make this better, “with the men who took me in. Assassins. And when I was ready, I came back here and started going after those who killed my family.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Zsasz”, Dinah realizes, making the other woman nod, “he was there, wasn’t he. I’d heard rumours, even after all this time there’s rumours, but never anything concrete…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He was there”, Helena tells her, prompting her to squeeze her hand again at the rough sound of her voice, “and he’s the last one on my list. Once I take him down, I’m done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you will take him down”, Dinah says at once, Helena giving her a somewhat surprised look - after all, she just has confirmed that she’s killed a bunch of people already, and yet all Dinah does is reassure her she’ll kill the final one, too, and doesn’t seem perturbed the slightest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Other people might not have reacted this way to learning they’re sitting next to an actual murderer, Helena still has time to think… and then Dinah suddenly says “come here”, and hugs her, and she stiffens, having expected this even less than the calm reaction of the singer to what they just have discussed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s stiff for a moment, then Dinah starts rubbing her back, and all at once, all the tension flows out of her as she allows herself to relax into the embrace, and she hugs her back and buries her face in the singer’s shoulder, and just allows herself to be held, something she hasn’t experienced in a long time.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yay for Dinah for just rolling with "my new friend has killed a bunch of people" XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Dinah wakes in the next morning, she’s disoriented for a moment, then she remembers the previous night - waking Helena from her nightmare, then their talk - and realizes that she must have fallen asleep at some point, belatedly realizing that she’s practically spooning Helena, the taller woman lying on her side with her back to her, Dinah herself quite close to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Helena is still fast asleep, Dinah then notices, her breath slow and even; not wanting to wake her, Dinah carefully tries to lift her arm off the assassin’s waist, freezing though when Helena lets out a grunt and shifts slightly, relieved again though when after a moment, Helena lies still again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The movement has made her realize something else though - her other arm, the one which hasn’t been hugging Helena close during sleep, is trapped beneath the pillow and Helena’s head, and she knows there is no way she can pull it free without waking her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, after a moment, Dinah lowers her free arm back down again, and gets comfortable, figuring she might as well get some more rest - it’s not like she has much else to do, after all, not having a job to go to or any other obligations, so there’s no real harm in sleeping in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As it turns out within a short while, she can’t go back to full sleep, but she does doze a bit, until she feels Helena stir again, opening her eyes just in time for her gaze to meet Helena’s as the assassin has rolled onto her back and is blinking at her sleepily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning”, Dinah says, Helena blinking again in response, clearly not quite sure why Dinah is in her bed with her, something the singer realizes a moment later and quickly explains, “I guess we fell asleep here… last night? Sorry? Didn’t mean to intrude?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine”, Helena reassures her, voice somewhat raspy after just waking up, “guess after that heart-to-heart we had last night, this isn’t such a big thing, is it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not to me”, Dinah tells her, then realizes her arm is still around Helena and that the assassin is now actually awake and notices; she clears her throat and pulls her arm back, and to her amazement, Helena’s face falls, just for a second, but long enough to let her see it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s adorable</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Dinah thinks to herself, and then all impulse control she might have so shortly after waking up dissipates and she leans in and presses her lips to Helena’s, pleasantly surprised at how soft they are, not quite sure why, but having expected them to be somewhat rougher.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, Helena suddenly pulls back, so fast she almost jerks back, and stares at her, eyes wide and startled now, the last bits of sleepiness gone; and Dinah realizes what she just has done, her eyes going wide as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh shit, fuck, I’m sorry”, she brings out, unable to keep a slight tremble out of her voice, because what if she really messed things up now, they were just becoming friends and now she does something like this, “I shouldn’t have… I didn’t… Helena I--”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena moves, fast and unexpectedly, and cuts her off in the best way she could have imagined - by kissing her this time, and with quite a bit more fervour, too, kissing her with a fierceness that shakes her to the core, as if her life depends on this kiss. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She kisses her back at once, and somehow, she ends up on her back with the assassin on top of her, her hands entangled in Helena’s hair now as they keep kissing, Helena groaning into her mouth when she shifts beneath her a bit, just enough to create friction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s the hottest thing Dinah has ever heard, and she aims to replicate it, bringing up one leg to wrap it around the taller woman, smiling into the kiss when she succeeds and another groan escapes her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somehow, even though Dinah is lying on her back, Helena manages to get her hand beneath the oversized shirt she’s been wearing for the night, and now, it’s Dinah’s turn to let out a pleased noise at the feeling of the taller woman’s palm on her bare back; she returns the favour, her hands travelling down Helena’s back until she reaches her butt and, without thinking, she gives a firm squeeze, the kiss to her dismay ending a second later as Helena pulls back and looks at her with a raised eyebrow, not appearing upset though, merely somewhat surprised.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What”, Dinah says innocently, giving another squeeze for emphasis, “don’t tell me you’re not aware you have a great ass. Very firm to the touch, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena stares at her for a few more seconds - and then she bursts out laughing, real laughter this time, and Dinah’s heart opens up and affection for this woman floods her, affection and something else she doesn’t quite dare to name yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just so you know”,  Helena says once she has calmed down enough to talk again, “I was not aware. Thanks for pointing it out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This makes it Dinah’s turn to laugh, and she shrugs as Helena smirks - before she pulls her down for another kiss, a slower and more gentle one this time, one they both savour, even though Dinah can still feel the need and hunger she’s felt before from Helena, as if Helena has been longing for this from her for an eternity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know”, Dinah breathes once they have to pull apart again for oxygen, “I do like to start my day with a shower.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh”, Helena lets out, spectacularly failing to realize what Dina is trying to imply, “okay then, wait…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah groans out loud, and not in the happy way, when Helena then moves off of her, and earns a questioning, somewhat confused look in response. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>trying to get you into the shower with me, you know”, Dinah makes it obvious, and Helena flushes brightly, to her amusement - she’s seen how easily Helena has taken care of the guy in the bar, how cool and calm she has been when she has done so, and here she is now, blushing so brightly that Dinah starts to worry for her well-being.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh”, the assassin lets out again, and Dinah wonders if she has been too rash, if this is all happening too fast for Helena - when the taller woman practically hops off the bed and asks what they are waiting for, then, Dinah letting out another laugh as she gets up as well, unable to stop smiling when Helena grabs her hand and leads the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She could really get used to starting her days like this.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yay, smoochies! Happy Monday everyone XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Quite a while later, Dinah sits in the kitchen, clean and </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> satisfied and content, and can barely believe her eyes - not because Helena is making breakfast, but because Helena is </span>
  <em>
    <span>humming</span>
  </em>
  <span> as she does so, and it doesn’t sound too bad, either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t have thought you’re the humming type”, she finally comments, smirking when Helena turns to look at her; and after a moment, Helena shrugs, then focuses on her work again, stirring the eggs with fervour as she replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Normally, I’m not”, she states, “but normally, I also don’t start my day having sex with an amazing woman, so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have, a few times”, Dinah tells her, earning a raised eyebrow, “but I have to say, you’re definitely in the top five.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The top five!” Helena repeats, sounding so incredulous it makes Dinah laugh, “well, then. Guess I will have to make an effort to get to first place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I correct myself”, Dinah says, coming to her feet and making her way over to where Helena is standing at the oven so she can wrap both arms around her from behind, “top three. Because if you make much more of an effort than the things you already did to me, I might not be able to stand it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have a lot of stamina”, Helena lets her know, in a completely serious tone, “so perhaps, next time, we should do this not in the shower, but in bed. So you won’t be standing up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like that thought”, Dinah mumbles, then presses a kiss to the back of her neck; and just when she pulls back, there’s a knock from the door, and both Helena and she tense up in perfect unison.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not expecting someone, are you”, Dinah states, not surprised when Helena shakes her head; to her amazement, she still takes the time to remove the frying pan from the oven and to switch said oven off, but then, she figures this is smart, if someone with ill intent is at the door, the last thing they need is that the apartment catches fire while they’re in a fight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you trust me?” Helena asks her once she has made sure her kitchen isn’t a fire hazard, and Dinah blinks, not quite sure where this is coming from; she quickly nods though, her voice low, but dry when she replies, her words making the taller woman smirk slightly in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t make a habit of sleeping with people I don’t trust”, she points out, “so yes, I trust you. But why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want you to open the door”, Helena says, already moving to the living room and her weapon stash with fast strides, pulling it open and getting out her crossbow, the quick way she loads it showing Dinah that she knows well how to handle it, “but no worries, I’ll have this aimed and ready. Anyone is out there who wants to harm you, they get a bolt into their eye.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if you hit me”, Dinah asks, only half joking; Helena just gives her a flat look, then says “I won’t”, in such a confident tone that Dinah decides to simply believe her, taking in a deep breath as she moves to the door, while Helena raises the crossbow, aiming it at the door just as she’s said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah glances at her, making sure she’s ready, and Helena gives a brief, tense nod, every inch the professional killer now; Dinah still takes a moment for another deep breath, then grasps the door and pulls it open, halfway ready to see a group of armed goons outside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s relieved, but also confused, when it turns out to be Harley Quinn. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Harley”, she says, then falls silent, not quite sure if she should invite her in or not, remembering that technically, this isn’t her place, “what are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How about you let me in and ask your girl to stop pointing her weapon at my face”, Harley says, eying Helena and said crossbow, the assassin looking back at her coldly, clearly not trusting her; when Dinah looks at her though to confirm it’s okay, she nods, and Dinah steps back, letting Harley enter, holding back a smirk when Harley makes a face at Helena the moment the door has closed behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you please stop aiming that thing at me”, she says, going as far as clasping her hands over her heart as if to demonstrate her sincerity, “I’m not here to make trouble!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you even know we’re here”, Helena demands to know, still not taking the crossbow down, “we never told you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I figured you’re in this building, cause I saw you walk in here after I brought Dinah’s bag”, Harley tells her, and Helena scowls, not liking that she’d no idea Harley had been watching her, “I just didn’t know which apartment. So I just knocked doors until I found you. Now would you </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> stop aiming your bow and arrow at me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not a fucking bow and arrow, it’s a crossbow”, Helena snaps, perhaps louder than intended, because Harley looks taken aback, “I’m not twelve.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your girl has rage issues”, Harley tells Dinah matter-of-factly in response; before Dinah can say anything though, Helena reacts to that, as well, and perhaps not in the best way to prove her own words right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t have rage issues!” she almost shouts, then realizes how loud she has been and falls silent; Harley just gives her a look, and after another moment, Helena lowers the crossbow at last, the other woman immediately smiling brightly at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s better”, she then says, already moving the couch as she asks if she can sit, and doing so a second later without waiting for an answer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, so”, Dinah says, while Helena is still scowling, “why are you here? I imagine this is not a social call if you went through the trouble of knocking on a dozen doors to find us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s not”, Harley confirms, Dinah suddenly feeling worried even though she can’t be sure yet bad things are happening, some instinct telling her thought that this is the case before Harley even continues and confirms it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sionis is looking for you”, she tells her, “he’s very pissed at you, word on the street says you betrayed him to the cops. But I guess you already knew that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes”, Dinah confirms, exchanging a look with Helena, sensing that this isn’t everything; Harley looks from her to Helena, a sudden strange softness in her eyes as she goes on, and Helena feels her blood run cold.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s also after you”, she tells the assassin, “and he knows who you are.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Helena and Dinah: *are happy*<br/>Me, writing this: Well, we can't have that, can we.</p>
<p>I'm sorry xD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“He thinks I’m a cop”, Helena slowly says after a few moments have ticked by in silence, and Dinah takes note of how her grip on the crossbow tightens as she allows herself the small hope that this is it, that Sionis doesn’t truly know who she is; that hope doesn’t last long though, as Harley sighs, then shakes her head, confirming the assassin’s worst fears when she replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He knows you’re from the Bertinelli family”, she tells the taller woman, and Helena looks as if someone’s punched her in the gut, “apparently, he did the math somehow, connecting the killings and the method and that was the result. Is he right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes”, Helena confirms tonelessly, and at hearing the sound of her voice, Dinah immediately moves to her side and places a hopefully calming hand on her back; now Helena regrets that she has killed them all with her crossbow, but then, she hasn’t expected anyone to actually look into all those seemingly unconnected murders and realize what has been happening.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’ll be fine”, Dinah tries to calm her down, feeling how tense she is as the muscle beneath her hand feels like solid stone, “we’ll figure something out, alright? Thanks for the warning, Harley.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome”, Harley says at once, “Sionis isn’t among my biggest fans right now, either, so we might as well work together against him, no? Strength in numbers and all that jazz.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I should hit up my contact”, Dinah muses out loud, making Helena look at her, the taller woman belatedly realizing that Dinah’s hand is still on her back, rubbing small, but soothing circles, “she either can help or she’ll have some idea what Sionis exactly is up to, like, what if he gets a hitman or something?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let him”, Helena replies at once, not sounding all too perturbed at the idea, “I can take anything he throws at me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not if he hires a sniper who’ll have shot you before you realize what is happening”, Harley points out, the thought making Dinah grimace; then, she shakes her head though, sounding thoughtful when she replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not his style, though”, she says, making it Harley’s turn to shrug, “he’ll take it personal, if he knows who you are and why you killed these guys, he’ll also know you’re after Zsasz. And he won’t like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, definitely not”, Harley agrees immediately, “Zsasz is like his BFF. Honestly, half the people I know think they’re fucking, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks for </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> mental image”, Dinah says, making a face, Helena not looking all too happy about it, either, “that’ll give me nightmares. So… what do we do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Text your contact”, Helena tells her after a moment of thinking about it, “and Harley, go back out there and see if you can find out more. If he’s hiring someone or how much he really knows, but don’t let them realize you’re helping us out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, I’m not dumb”, Harley says as Dinah nods and goes to get her phone, “and I got the PhD to prove it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You got a PhD?” Helena asks in surprise before she can stop herself; Harley rolls her eyes, then nods, smirking at her as she responds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Course”, she then says, “I’m a psychiatrist. Or, well, I was. How do you think I could point your rage issues out so fast?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t have…”, Helena starts, then gives up and just sighs; listening to them as she types out a text, Dinah smirks to herself, even though the words she’s writing are quite serious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Might be in trouble</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she writes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>together with the friend I’m staying with. Heard Sionis is after both her and me. Ideas?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sends the text, hoping her contact won’t tell her she’s on her own now that she’s not able to supply her with information anymore; figuring that it might take a while until a response comes, she puts the phone back onto the table, only to have it vibrate right away, prompting her to raise an eyebrow as she hasn’t expected a response so fast. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s a short response, she sees as she opens it, and one she hasn’t expected at all, her eyebrows shooting up as she reads it again, just to make sure she hasn’t missed or misunderstood anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Meet me at the Four Leaf Clover bar, 6 o’clock</span>
  </em>
  <span>, is all her contact has written; Dinah frowning at the display is enough to prompt Helena to move to her side while Harley looks curious, doesn’t ask though, not even when Dinah shows Helena her phone and the taller woman frowns, as well. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s hope this is not some sort of trap”, Helena says, Dinah turning the phone so Harley can see the text, too, and immediately shakes her head when she sees the location.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is a cop bar”, she then says, “so unless you worry you’ll get arrested, I don’t think any criminal will set up a trap there. That would be dumb.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I still don’t want you to go there alone”, Helena tells Dinah, not really surprising the singer - already before they have kissed for the first time, Helena has been protective of her, and she figures this only will increase now, with them actually dating, “I’ll come with you. I’ll hide if I have to, if your contact won’t meet you otherwise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll ask”, Dinah says, quickly typing out her response, “just a second…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>My friend will be there, too</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she writes, making it a statement and not a question, </span>
  <em>
    <span>just in case. We’ll be there on time.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay</span>
  </em>
  <span>, the answer comes at once, to the singer’s relief; she shows the phone to Helena, who nods, then sighs, sitting down on the couch heavily as she realizes that for now, all they can do is wait for the time of the meeting to come around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright”, Harley states, coming to her feet again, “I’ll go keep my eyes and ears open. You want to give me your number, Dinah, so I can let you know in case I learn anything?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She already has her phone in hand as she talks, as if she already knows the answer, and Dinah figures it makes sense to give her the number; and so she does, Harley saving it to her phone and then calling it so Dinah will have hers, as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright”, she then says, “I’ll let you guys know in case I find anything out. Take care until then, you hear?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You too”, Dinah says while Helena just nods; Harley, for some reason only known to her, bows to them, then practically skips to the door, and a few seconds later, she’s gone, and Dinah lets out a heavy sigh, giving Helena an unhappy look as the assassin sits down next to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry”, she then says, Helena giving her a confused look, clearly having no idea what she is apologizing for, “for dragging you into this, and now Sionis knows who you are…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But he doesn’t know that because of you”, Helena points out, “and like I said, you didn’t drag me into anything. I jumped right in all by myself when I went after Zsasz. None of this is your fault.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah just sighs, clearly not willing to let herself off the hook so easily; for a moment, Helena feels helpless, not sure what to say or to do to make this better - she’s good at killing people, but social interactions of any kind have never been her strong suit - then she figures that physical contact is a good start and grasps Dinah’s hand, glad when the gesture makes the singer look at her with a small smile curling her lips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None of this is your fault”, Helena repeats, figuring it makes sense to tell her again, “and to be honest, that we are… here like this now… is worth it, no matter who’s to blame.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seems she has found the right words, because Dinah’s gaze softens and her smile widens; she squeezes Helena’s hand, making sure to holds her gaze as she responds, her words in turn causing Helena to blush again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That we’re together, you mean”, Dinah says, “right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena can only nod, hoping this isn’t wrong, hoping that Dinah won’t tell her now it has been a one-time-thing; instead of doing so, Dinah leans in and kisses her, and when she pulls back, Helena finds herself grinning dumbly, a reaction she often seems to show around the singer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right”, Dinah says, squeezing her hand again, “totally worth it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena once again only nods, then pulls her in for another kiss, and for a short while, they both forget all about the danger they are in and the worries this causes for them.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Happy Wednesday everyone! Stay safe :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Punctually at six o’clock, Helena and Dinah enter the bar; Helena is wearing her coat again, hiding her crossbow and her knives, things Dinah hopes she won’t have to use, but she knows it is better to have them and not need them instead of the other way around.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s also glad that Helena’s coat not only makes her look badass, but hides the weapons quite well, too; thanks to her tall stature, Helena looks quite intimidating as she enters the bar right behind Dinah, several people glancing their way, but looking away again quickly when Helena glares back at them, unimpressed by the fact that this is a bar often frequented by cops.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah has only met her contact face to face once, when the woman has approached her and has talked her into spying on Sionis for her; she recognizes her at once though, the cop sitting at the bar and nursing a glass of whisky, looking at her when she steps up to her, then at Helena, raising an eyebrow as she takes the assassin in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is your friend?” she then asks, looking at Dinah again, “when you said you bring your friend, I imagined someone less… intimidating.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Helena”, Helena says in response, holding out her hand, while Dinah just smirks and shrugs; the cop pauses at hearing her name, and briefly narrows her eyes at her, then shakes her hand though and simply introduces herself as Renee, even though Helena has the feeling that something else is on the tip of her tongue.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever it is, she doesn’t say it, but grabs her drink and gets up from the seat, claiming they should find a booth for at least a bit of privacy; she takes the lead and impresses and amuses Helena by getting them a booth at the far back at the bar, one which is taken by two guys, but Renee doesn’t give them much chance to argue as she tells them this is their booth now and they better go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They take one look at her, then one at Helena and decide that it truly is Renee’s booth, getting up without a word; the three women sit down, Dinah next to Helena and Renee facing them, giving the singer a smile as she gets comfortable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Glad to see you’re still alive”, she says, leaning back onto the bench, “I was really quite worried when you didn’t respond to my texts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, my phone was the club, and I couldn’t go there anymore”, Dinah says, “sorry about that. I’m fine though, we both are but… we’ve heard from a good source that Sionis is after us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve dug around after I got your text”, Renee lets her know, “contacted some people, too, and I can only confirm that, unfortunately. You really pissed him off. He’s also after your friend here, from what I’ve heard, but, no offense, you look as if you can take care of yourself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can”, Helena tells her, “but so can Dinah. So we won’t go into hiding, before you suggest that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t going to”, Renee reassures her, eying her fingerless gloves and the bits of steel fastened to them so her punch packs a bit more power, “you don’t look as if you’d do that even if it’s the smart thing to do. I have to tell you to be careful though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you also know he’s after us”, Dinah says, making the cop look at her again, “but that isn’t exactly news for us. Anything else? Your case? The Russians?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Russians are still pissed at him, but haven’t made a move yet”, Renee tells her, and Dinah sighs, secretly having hoped that the Russians would take care of the problem for her, “and the case I’m building… not enough evidence yet. What you’ve given me is good, but not enough to put him away for sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn”, Dinah sighs, Helena frowning to herself as she studies Renee, “and here I was, hoping you’d handcuff him tomorrow and the problem is solved.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t want to use her as bait, do you”, Helena throws in before Renee can say something, the cop blinking at her, “keep an eye on her until Sionis makes his move and then arrest him? You better are not planning that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What”, Renee says, sounding so incredulous that Helena immediately believes her, “no! I’d never do that! If you hadn’t immediately said you won’t go into hiding, I actually would have suggested that. I’m working on building a case against him without endangering my contacts.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I believe you”, Helena hurriedly says when the cop pauses for a breath; thankfully, this doesn’t set off another rant, Renee still glaring at her though, Dinah hurrying to diffuse the situation, not wanting the two to get into a fight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I do suggest that you lay low at least for a while”, Renee tells them, taking a sip of her drink, “maybe you’ll be lucky and the Russians will take care of the problem for you. And if they don’t, or take too long, I will have a good case against him soon, then he’ll go behind bars.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena doesn’t like the thought of Zsasz going to jail, she won’t be able to get at him there and the thought of waiting for years for him to come back out makes her stomach clench; she knows better than to say this out loud though, but still some of her thoughts must have shown on her face, as Renee narrows her eyes at her again, giving her a clearly suspicious look this time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you play into this”, she wants to know, apparently having decided that simply asking is the best way to find out, “no offense, but you don’t look like the sort of friend Dinah might go shopping with and to get her hair done. You look more like the friend who kicks ass.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“First off, she’s my girlfriend”, Dinah says, Renee not appearing all too surprised, even though they haven’t exactly done anything which would have given them away, “and second, yes, she does kick ass, but you know that so can I.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you can do other things, too”, Renee says, and even though Helena isn’t sure what she is talking about, she can tell it’s a sensitive topic for Dinah, just from how the singer tenses up next to her, and without thinking, she places one hand on the other woman’s thigh, glad when Dinah immediately relaxes again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can, but I won’t”, Dinah now says, and again Helena wonders what they are talking about, “and you know why. You also know I won’t discuss this again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I know”, Renee says, Helena only feeling more confused, but deciding to not ask, figuring Dinah will tell her on her own once she’s ready, “well. Like I said, take care. I’ll try to keep you updated about what’s going on with Sionis, he doesn’t know where your girl here lives, does he.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No”, Dinah says at once, to Renee’s obvious relief, “he has no idea, so we’re safe there. No worries.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good”, Renee says, then waves the waiter over and orders shots for the three of them, claiming they need to drink together for good luck; Helena isn’t quite sure this actually works, but goes along with it anyway, figuring it can’t hurt, her mind focused on the danger out there though - and on whatever Dinah and Renee have been talking about minutes ago, and if she’ll find out anytime soon what this strange conversation has been about.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Secrets! Helena is more patient than I would have been. XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Some ouchies and violence in this chapter, but nothing worse than in the movie.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You know”, Dinah says a while later, as they are entering Helena’s apartment again, the taller woman looking at her, “Harley might have said you have rage issues, and I have seen that you can feel angry at times, but… you’re the most patient person I’ve ever met.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?” Helena lets out, not quite sure what this is referring to; Dinah smiles at her, but it’s an odd smile, not as happy as her usual ones, but tinged with sadness, and it makes Helena’s heart clench up oddly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must be dying to know what Renee and I were talking about, at the bar”, she points out, moving to the couch and sitting down, Helena doing the same next to her, “and yet you don’t ask. I don’t think I know anyone else who wouldn’t have done so by now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I figure you’ll tell me once you want to”, Helena tells her, shrugging, “I mean, I do want to know but… I don’t want to pester you or something, you didn’t do that to me either, when I had that nightmare.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And that is why you are patient”, Dinah tells her, then snuggles up to her; smiling a bit, Helena turns her head a bit so she can press a gentle kiss to the top of Dinah’s… and it’s fortunate that she does in this exact moment, because thanks to that new position, the bright red dot catches her eye as it flickers over Dinah’s hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She reacts immediately and without thinking, grabbing her with both arms and throwing herself off the couch, pulling Dinah with her, the singer letting out a startled yelp; they hit the ground, and just as Dinah opens her mouth to ask her what the Hell she is doing, the window shatters and the bullet hits the couch, right where she has been sitting moments ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shit!” Dinah yelps, eyes wide; Helena glances toward the shattered window, tries to figure out if they’re still visible to the sniper, then tells Dinah to stay down before she rolls off of her and crawls to the window the bullet has come through, making sure to stay low, not wanting to pay for her efforts with a bullet to the head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pauses as she reaches the window, then peers over the sill, trying to spot the one who has shot, maybe just the telltale glint of sunlight on metal; she sees nothing though, and there’s no second shot, a heavy breath coming from her as she ducks back down, back into cover.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t see him”, she lets Dinah know, “must have realized he didn’t land a hit and ran off. Or is trying to find another spot to try again, we have to get out of here, now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She still takes a moment to grab her crossbow again, glad that she hasn’t removed the extra bolts and knives from the hidden sheaths beneath her clothing yet; this means she needs less time to get ready, and within moments, she’s at the door, Dinah hurrying to join her, nervously glancing towards the window as she does so, as if she’ll see the next bullet coming in time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They quickly step outside, and Helena closes the door, not bothering to lock it; she takes the lead as they hurry down the stairs, but before they exit the building, Helena stops her, crouching down as she moves towards the exit, one powerful push opening the door, Helena ducking back into the cover the second it swings open - and that is smart, Dinah realizes, as another shot is fired, but misses her, hitting the wall close to the elevator instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Practically the second the bullet has hit the wall, Helena is moving again, stepping back into the doorframe, bringing her crossbow up and firing, in one fluid motion; and a second later, Dinah hears a pained cry and the sound of a body hitting the ground, Helena gritting her teeth as she reloads the crossbow, then dares to peer outside again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, he’s down”, she tells Dinah, “now we need to find out if he brought any friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of sirens in the distance interrupts her, and she frowns - she hasn’t been in Gotham for that long, but she knows that often, police take their time to arrive when shots are fired; then, she remembers that Dinah has told Renee her address, and maybe, the cop is keeping an eye out for shots fired in this area.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena stays low as she walks out the door, Dinah staying close behind her, and looks around; she can spot the man who fired quickly, on the opposite sidewalk, a sniper rifle slung to his back and a regular handgun lying close to his outstretched hand, the crossbow bolt protruding from his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah can tell at once that he’s dead, from the still way he’s lying there, the bolt would have been rising and falling with his breath if he still had been alive, but it’s not moving an inch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sionis must have sent him”, she says, swallowing heavily as she realizes how close they have been to being killed and that once again, Helena has saved her life, “if you hadn’t seen that…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Helena straightens up and turns to look at her, and there’s another loud bang, and suddenly Helena staggers, and the world around Dinah slows down to a crawl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She can still hear the sirens approach, closer now, but oddly muffled anyway, as if her ears are blocked; she can see the look of disbelief on Helena’s face, and she knows it’s mirrored on her own, and she can see a splash of blood sail through the air, glinting in the artificial light of the streetlamp, almost beautiful.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Helena!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The scream rips free from her throat, so harsh it hurts, as Helena goes down, ending up flat on her back; eyes wild, Dinah glares around, spots the man who has done this, she has never seen him before, but he must have been sent by Sionis, has just been waiting for his chance, hiding like a coward. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She screams at him, a wordless cry of pure rage and pain, and her power hits him and sends him flying, there’s a disgusting fleshy </span>
  <em>
    <span>thwack</span>
  </em>
  <span> when a building stops him and he falls, blood pouring from his smashed head, but Dinah doesn’t even register this anymore, having forgotten him the moment he hit the wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She runs to where Helena lies motionless on the ground, tears blurring her eyes; there’s blood, so much blood, and she can’t tell at first where it is coming from, can’t find the wound, too frantic after what just has happened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Helena”, she brings out, voice trembling, but there’s no reaction, Helena just lies there, eyes closed, face slack, and Dinah breaks and starts to cry, and that is the scene the cops pull up to half a minute later, having arrived quicker than usual, but still too late to stop any of this from happening.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've finished another fic for this pairing earlier today, the inspiration is strong for those two. xD<br/>Also, poor Helena. Again.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I’ll kill him for this”, Dinah grimly swears, pacing up and down, fists clenched tightly at her sides, “I swear. I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know you shouldn’t talk like that in front of a cop, right”, Renee says, calmly holding her gaze when Dinah whips around to glare at her, “just saying. But no worries, can’t blame you. If I happen to be there, I’ll look the other way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You better”, Dinah snaps, then lets out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping as she gives the other woman an apologetic look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry”, she adds, finally stopping her pacing and sitting down next to Renee, “it’s just…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I get it”, Renee reassures her at once, “no worries. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t get it”, Dinah mumbles in response, running a shaky hand through her hair, “why send someone to shoot us? You’d think I pissed him off enough to make it personal, that he’d want his lapdog to take care of it, in the slow, gruesome way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe they weren’t supposed to shoot you both”, Renee guesses in response, “just… her. And grab you and bring you to him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To his creepy little murder dungeon in the club”, Dinah mumbles, thinking back to the room Helena has rescued her from; she frowns to herself as she thinks of the club, a plan slowly starting to form in her mind, an idea how to hurt Sionis before finishing him off fully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She doubts she can do the second part without help, and the first one might be tricky, too, but it’s an idea, and it makes her feel better to have some sort of plan, no matter how vague, instead of just sitting around, waiting for others to take care of the problem. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Creepy little murder dungeon?” Renee repeats, but before Dinah has the chance to answer, a doctor approaches them, Renee hoping he hasn’t heard her, but he doesn’t look all too disturbed, so she figures he hasn’t.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re here for Mrs Helena Lance?” he asks, looking at his chart and so thankfully missing the surprised look Renee shoots Dinah, the singer herself pretending she’s not noticing, keeping her gaze on the doctor as she nods.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll be happy to hear that the bullet could be removed without much complication”, the doctor lets her know, “your wife will have to keep her arm still for a while, but it should heal with no trouble or permanent damage. We will have to report this to the police though, we are obligated to, when it comes to gunshot wounds.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can report it to me”, Renee tells him, flashing her badge at him; he looks doubtful for a moment, then sighs and nods, perhaps not the fully right procedure, but then, Renee figures, he probably has other things on his mind, in a city like Gotham.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine”, he says, then tells Dinah she can go see her wife and where to find the room; this earns her another look from Renee, this time a scrutinizing one, but again she pretends not to notice, sweetly thanking the doctor before she goes to find the room number he’d given her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s fairly certain Helena will still be out cold, as she has been ever since she went down after the bullet had hit; and so, she’s pleasantly surprised when she opens the door and Helena’s gaze meets hers, a bit dazed, but aware enough to allow the assassin a small smile at Dinah’s entrance.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey”, Helena says, of all things, greeting her as casually if they just have met at the bar or something, “aw, you’re here, how nice.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s a slight slur in her voice, just enough to let Dinah notice, and she finds herself wondering if the taller woman is actually high on painkillers; then Helena smiles somewhat dopily, and that suspicions turns into a fact.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I’m here”, Dinah tells her as she moves to sit next to the bed, eying the sling which keeps Helena from moving her arm and the bulky bandage, thick enough to be noticeable even beneath the hospital gown, wrapped around her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The doctor said you’re gonna be okay”, she adds, reaching out to grasp her uninjured hand, Helena’s smile widening in reply, “you’ll have to keep that arm still for a while, but other than that… Are you in pain?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No”, Helena says at once, to the singer’s relief, “they must have given me something really good. It barely twinges.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good”, Dinah says, gently squeezing her hand, “I’m glad. I got really scared when that guy hit you, for a moment, I thought you’re dead…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please”, Helena scoffs, making Dinah smile again at how offended she sounds, “it takes more than some guy with a peashooter to take me down.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good”, Dinah repeats, giving her hand another squeeze, “oh, and in case someone asks, your last name is Lance and you’re my wife. I had to give them some name and figured that using your real one wouldn’t be smart.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re so smart”, Helena praises, a bit dopily again, and perhaps, Dinah thinks to herself when she goes on, the painkillers shorten out the filter between her brain and mouth, as she seems to babble on without thinking, “so smart and beautiful and awesome and I’m your girlfriend and that makes me so happy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It makes me happy, too”, Dinah reassures her, unable to hold back another smile at how adorable this is, despite the serious situation which has caused it, “but you should get some sleep now. So you can heal.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not tired”, Helena mumbles, the way she is struggling to keep her eyes open showing though that she is not exactly honest; Dinah shakes her head at the stubbornness, then bends over her and gently kisses her, a small, content sigh coming from the assassin when she pulls back again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get some sleep”, she says again, glad when this time, Helena lets out a vaguely agreeing noise in reply, “I’ll be right here tomorrow morning. Okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay”, Helena sleepily mumbles, Dinah kissing her once more and giving her hand another squeeze; and as she leaves, Helena already drifts off into sleep, unaware of the steely look which now shows on Dinah’s face as the singer is still plotting her revenge.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Helena high on painkillers was a joy to write. XD I'm sorry, Helena.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Dinah has been planning to leave the hospital without encountering Renee once more, she’s aware that Renee is suspicious about possible plans she might have; she’s not lucky enough for that though, as Renee spots her the moment she steps out of Helena’s room and makes a beeline for her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t do anything stupid”, she says at once, Dinah pausing and raising an eyebrow at her, unable to keep her tone from being somewhat cutting when she replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Helena is as fine as she can be, considering the circumstances”, she says, and Renee makes a face, “thank you for asking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, that was inconsiderate, sorry”, Renee relents quickly, “but you know what I mean. I can tell from the look on your face, you’re planning something.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I am”, Dinah gives back, crossing her arms over her chest, “and what if I am? You want me to sit back and wait for Sionis to die of old age, after what he had his goon do to Helena? She could have been killed!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And you will be killed, if you go after Sionis alone now”, Renee points out, holding Dinah’s gaze even when the singer glares at her, “you know I’m right. You want me to end up in that room tomorrow, telling Helena that you’re dead?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t be alone”, Dinah smugly replies, Renee blinking as she clearly hasn’t expected that, “so no worries, you won’t have to tell Helena anything. And you won’t stop me. You wanted me to use what I can do? Fine, I will.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dinah”, Renee tries again, but Dinah just gives her another hard look - before she turns and walks off without another word, not looking back when Renee calls out to her again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, Renee considers following her, then decides against it, knowing she won’t be able to stop her; and so, instead of following Dinah, she just watches her go, heart heavy as she tries to figure out what to do now to keep this mess from getting even worse.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>“You were right to call me”, Harley says, nodding for emphasis, “but are you sure you want to do this? He’ll know it was you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Or he’ll think it’s the Russians”, Dinah replies, “and even if he doesn’t, let him know it was me. I don’t care.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, you’re really pissed”, Harley observes, “what is it with you people and vengeance? Seems like your girl’s rubbed off on you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My girl is in the hospital, because of Sionis”, Dinah points out, “I believe that is reason enough to justify some vengeance.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, sure, totally”, Harley agrees at once, “just finding it interesting that both of you are so into that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah just shrugs, then raises the binoculars again and peers at the club, watching the last stragglers leave; she’s glad now that the club closes earlier on weekdays, as this doesn’t mean she has to wait around for hours for the last few people to leave.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure you want to do this”, Harley says next to her, making her look at her again, “just making sure, because once we start, there’s no going back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes”, Dinah says, watching how Sionis locks the doors of the club, Zsasz and he are always the last ones to leave; Sionis takes a moment to check his phone, then says something to Zsasz and they both laugh before they walk off, to the back entrance which will take them up to his apartment above the club.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah waits until she can be sure that they have gone inside and went upstairs, then grabs one of the two petrol cans, and Harley takes the other one, looking giddy at the thought of setting fire to Sionis’ club.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you’re lucky, he won’t make it out and get roasted up there”, she says thoughtfully as they walk to the entrance; Dinah shrugs, she doesn’t really care if Sionis makes it out or not, she just wants to hurt him, one way or another, after how he has hurt Helena and, in extension, her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She has a moment to hope that Helena won’t be pissed at her if Zsasz dies in the flames and she won’t get to kill him; on the other hand, he’d be dead, which is the goal Helena has, so Dinah figures it will be alright, glancing left and right to make sure nobody is watching before she puts the petrol can down again and removes a hairpin from her hair, using it to unlock the club, glad that this is a skill she hasn’t forgotten.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It takes her a bit longer than it would have in the past, but she manages, and thankfully, nobody walks by to see her break in; quickly, she pushes the door open, then grabs the petrol can and enters, Harley right behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s start at the back”, Dinah whispers to her, earning a brief nod, “and work our way back to the door. No need to endanger ourselves.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Smart”, Harley agrees, then walks to one of the booths close to the stage and happily starts splashing petrol around; Dinah watches her for a moment, hoping she won’t soak herself and get lit on fire, too, then she gets onto the stage and starts pouring, making sure to spread the stuff evenly as she slowly walks backwards.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The petrol can is halfway empty when the lights come on, bright enough to momentarily blind her, and both Harley and she freeze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, well, well”, Sionis says, shaking his head and clicking his tongue in disapproval, “what is this, now? Arson? Little bird, you wound me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dinah can only stand there and stare, petrol can still in hand; Sionis keeps his gun aimed at her as he steps into the club, allowing Zsasz to enter, as well, said man aiming at Harley in turn, both of them effectively helpless now, two two men standing too far apart for her power to do any good, Dinah cursing the fact that she hasn’t brought a gun, then realizing she’d have no time to draw it anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Put that down”, Sionis coldly orders, and she complies, slowly lowering the petrol can; smirking his creepy smile, Zsasz watches how Harley does the same, then brings up the gun and shoots, Dinah crying out in shock, feeling a mix of relief and fear when an arrow hits Harley instead of a bullet and she goes down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A second later, Sionis fires at her as well, and the same happens to her; her muscles go slack and she ends up the floor, but she realizes at once that she’s still aware, whatever is in there isn’t knocking her out, just makes her immobile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, little bird”, Sionis says as he walks over to her, “you won’t just get shot. You’ve really angered me, and you’ve seen what happens to people who’ve angered me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He bends down and, grunting audibly, picks her up, slinging her over his shoulder; from the corner of her eye, she can see Zsasz do the same to Harley, then Sionis takes the lead and they go downstairs into the basement, and Dinah wishes she could scream as she knows exactly what awaits her down there.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Have I mentioned that I love cliffhangers? Cause I do.<br/>I'm sorry XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Unlike when both Helena and she were down there, Sionis and Zsasz take Dinah and Harley to the same room now, apparently planning to make one watch how the other is cut up; and it seems they want to start with Harley, as Zsasz places her on the chair carefully, making sure she won’t fall over, while Sionis puts Dinah onto the floor, positioning her so that she has a good view of both Zsasz and Harley.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know”, he says while Zsasz pulls out his knife and smiles, turning the blade this way and that so the light glints on it, “it’s a pity your girl didn’t get killed, but that can be remedied once we took care of you. I wish she’d be here to see this too, though, I’m sure she’d love to once again see Victor take something she loves from her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s an oddly familiar </span>
  <em>
    <span>twang</span>
  </em>
  <span> noise, and Zsasz lets out a strange blubbering noise; for a moment, Dinah thinks he’s laughing at what Sionis has said… then she sees the crossbow bolt protrude from his throat, and the blood which is pouring down, and if she had been able to, she would have let out a cry of joy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Careful what you wish for”, Helena says from the doorway, lowering the crossbow, and Sionis’ mouth literally falls open while Zsasz lets out another gurgle, then slowly falls over, ending up face down on the floor, twitching a few times before he stops and dies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s no way Helena can reload with one arm in a sling, Dinah realizes at once, but that’s no problem - because Renee steps into the room next, and aims her gun at Sionis, smiling coldly at him as he can only stand there and stare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Roman Sionis”, she says, “you’re under arrest. We’ll start with kidnapping, attempted murder, and the actual murder of Oleg Sacharow, but I’m sure we’ll find more once we truly start to dig.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She killed Victor”, Sionis says, still looking as if he can’t quite believe it, not even when Renee walks over to him and handcuffs him, not resisting the slightest, “she killed him!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Self-defense”, is all Renee has to say to that as she grabs his arm and steers him out of the room; Helena steps aside to let them pass, Sionis staring at her as if he can’t believe she’s there, Helena looking back at him coldly, until he is past her and all she can see is the back of his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dismissing him, she walks to where Zsasz lies on the floor, and uses the tip of her boot to roll him onto his back, making sure he’s dead; his eyes stare lifelessly up at the ceiling, but she kicks him for good measure, convincing herself he’s not faking, Dinah watching her study him afterwards while slowly, her fingers and toes begin to tingle, signalling that whatever Zsasz and Sionis used on Harley and her is wearing off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Only once Helena is fully sure that Zsasz is dead - and he is, the bolt having gone through his neck so it’s poking out of his throat, nobody could have survived that - she carefully puts the crossbow away, then relaxes visibly - before she tenses up again as she turns to look at Dinah, giving her such a strict look that Dinah immediately feels the urge to pout, one she can’t fulfil though as she’s still not able to move.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dinah”, she strictly says, checking her for injuries as she moves over to her and briefly looking relieved when she can’t find any, “that was stupid. And reckless, and dangerous. I’m the one who does stupid reckless dangerous shit in this relationship, we can’t both do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pauses as she lowers herself into a crouch in front of her, grimacing; and only now that she is so close to her, Dinah can see how pale Helena is, and the small beads of sweat on her face, and realizes how much pain she must be in, walking around and shooting people so shortly after she’d gotten shot.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This might hurt”, Helena warns, then pulls the arrow Sionis has shot her with out of her arm; and apparently, the fact that it’s gone causes whatever has been on it to wear off even faster, feeling slowly returning to all of her body, and she even finds herself capable of letting out a low groan while Helena goes and removes the arrow from Harley’s body, as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Urch”, Dinah lets out after another moment, feeling a bit dizzy, but she figures that will wear off; she moves her fingers experimentally, then her toes, finally daring to bend one leg, glad when it obeys her command.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t try to get up yet”, Helena advises her at once, with another strict look, “or you might end up--” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harley tries to get up from the chair behind her, and stumbles and falls flat on her face, and Helena sighs, gesturing at her before she finishes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“End up doing that”, she says, and even though she was close to being killed not even ten minutes ago, Dinah finds herself snorting laughter, glad when Helena smiles a bit as well, while Harley lets out a muffled noise of protest from her position on the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Taking pity, Helena moves over to her and rolls her onto her back; Harley manages to mumble “thanks”, another clear sign that the stuff is wearing off, and a few minutes later, Dinah does dare to come to her feet, glad when she doesn’t do what Harley did and manages to stay on her feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harley tries again as well, and this time, stays upright, too; figuring that they can’t wait much longer anyway, Helena puts her good arm around Dinah’s waist and leads her towards the door, knowing that Renee is probably stalling more cops outside right this moment so they can make an unseen exit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She remembers the exit they’ve taken when Dinah and she have been down here the first time, and leads the way there, Harley following along behind them, a bit wobbly on her feet still, but using the wall for support; Dinah tries not to lean on Helena too heavily, reminding herself that her girlfriend has a somewhat fresh bullet wound still, but if it pains her, Helena doesn’t let it show, stoically walking along towards the exist.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There we go”, she says as they reach the door, Harley moving past her to open it, nearly falling again in the process, but managing to stay on her feet with some ungraceful flailing, “you gonna be okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine”, Harley says, “my car’s parked not far from here. You gonna be fine, too?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Peachy”, Helena dryly says, and Harley lets out a burst of laughter before she nods; she tells them she would bow to make a proper exit, but is afraid she’ll fall on her face again, so she’ll skip the bow this time, waving at the couple instead.</span>
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<p>
  <span>“Thanks for saving my ass”, she adds, then turns and walks off; they both watch her go as Dinah’s strength returns to her fully, Helena finally looking at her, her eyes and voice soft when she speaks up.</span>
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<p>
  <span>“Let’s go home”, she says, and Dinah smiles, and nods, realizing that now, it is over, that the danger is done and that finally, she won’t have to live in fear anymore.</span>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Helena, as she does something reckless: Don't do reckless things!<br/>Heh. x)</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Are you sure you shouldn’t go back to the hospital?” Dinah says as she sits down on the couch next to Helena; she’s not surprised when the assassin immediately shakes her head, but she still worries, taking a critical look at the bandage even though she can’t see the wound itself. </p><p>“I’m fine”, Helena tells her, having noticed her look, “and I do have good painkillers here, in case I need them. Also, for the record, you messed up more than I did, I only vanished from the hospital, you nearly got yourself killed.”</p><p>“I know, I know”, Dinah mumbles, feeling bad again, knowing this could have gone very wrong very fast if Zsasz or Sionis had noticed Helena before she’d fired her shot, “and I nearly got Harley killed, too. How did you know where I was?”</p><p>“Wasn’t hard to guess”, Helena says with one-sided shrug, careful to not move her injured shoulder, “Renee came storming into my room at the hospital, woke me up and said you were gonna do something stupid. So we both figured you’d go to the club, she wanted to go alone first, but I wouldn’t let her.”</p><p>“Of course not”, Dinah says in a slightly teasing tone; Helena just raises an eyebrow at her, and she realizes she is not in a good position to tease, what with how she almost got killed not even an hour ago.</p><p>She clears her throat, relieved when Helena smiles after a moment; a second later, another thought hits Dinah though, and she frowns, looking toward the broken window thoughtfully as she remembers a not unimportant detail which has been bothering her for a while now.</p><p>“You know”, she says, gesturing vaguely at the window, “I keep wondering how Sionis found us. And how did he know I was at the club? Harley and I were watching from a safe distance, so safe in fact we needed binoculars to see anything.”</p><p>“Give me your phone”, Helena says in response, and Dinah blinks, that is not the answer she’s been expecting; she pulls it from her pocket and hands it over though, frowning again when Helena removes the back cover and holds it out to her, pointing out a tiny little microchip among the many she has exposed.</p><p>“Tracker”, she says, handing the phone back to Dinah who gasps, “he must have put that in there when your phone was at the club. Damn, should have thought of that when we got it back.”</p><p>“Well, next time we know”, Dinah sighs, pocketing her phone again after having removed the chip and crushing it between her fingers; Helena raises an eyebrow again, then says “next time?”, and Dinah shrugs, leaning back comfortably again and making the assassin smile again as well by reaching over and placing one hand on her thigh.</p><p>“For some reason, I don’t see you working a nine to five job now that you’re done with your list”, Dinah points out, and Helena has to admit that this is a good point, “so what are you going to do? Have any plans? Because personally, I quite enjoy the thought of kicking criminal ass, even if it’s dangerous.”</p><p>“I never really thought about that”, Helena admits, not really surprising Dinah as she has figured that Helena pretty much had lived for her revenge up until this point, “but you’re right, I can hardly go do a normal job now. And it’s not like there’s a shortage of criminals here in Gotham so…”</p><p>“We should talk to Renee”, Dinah ponders out loud, “she should be happy, after how she’s pestered me to step in my mother’s footsteps.”</p><p>Only when she says the words, she realizes what she just has revealed, but once Helena doesn’t ask, even though she looks mildly curious; Dinah gives her credit for not asking again, but figures she deserves to know, and so, she clears her throat, voice growing soft as she continues.</p><p>“My mother had… a power”, she says, Helena looking somewhat startled at that, Dinah realizing that she has been out cold when she’s used said power against the man who had shot her, “and she used it, to fight bad guys. She taught me how to fight, too, and apparently, I inherited the power, as well, because I can do it, too. It takes a toll though, and after my mother had died I… I told myself I wouldn’t end like this, dying for people who couldn’t care less.”</p><p>Helena has no idea what to say to this, once again cursing her lack of skill when it comes to handling such situations; and so, she does the only thing she can think of, and puts her good arm around the singer, glad when Dinah immediately snuggles up to her, a small sigh coming from her as she gets comfortable against the assassin’s body.</p><p>“But maybe that was wrong”, she continues after a moment, “I mean, I did help take Sionis down, and that makes the city a better place. So maybe, it’s time to stop running from who I am.”</p><p>“And to start kicking ass”, Helena says solemnly, and she means it, so she’s not quite sure why Dinah starts laughing in response; Dinah nods her agreement as she laughs though, so it can’t have been a wrong thing to say, the singer still grinning once she calms down again.</p><p>“To start kicking ass, yes”, she nods, pausing for a brief, but gentle kiss, to Helena’s delight, “so? You’re in? Once you’re healed, that is.”</p><p>“Sure”, Helena says at once, earning another happy smile from the singer, “if only so I get to spend more time with you. Cause I like spending time with you.”</p><p>“Aw”, Dinah lets out, while Helena feels her cheeks heat up and curses herself for her tendency to blush whenever she’s around her, “that’s fortunate, cause I like spending time with you, too.”</p><p>And with that, she moves to straddle her - mindful of her injured shoulder - and kisses her, fairly innocently at first, then deeper, Helena wrapping her good arm around her and pulling her close, both of them certain that from now on, things will only get better for both of them. </p><p><em> We start this fire<br/>
</em> <em>Just to burn it all</em><br/>
<em> From out the pyre<br/>
A new life calls</em></p><p>
  <b>Trivium - Vengeance Falls</b>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And! It is done :) I had fun writing this, and I hope you had fun reading this. Thanks for all the kudos, comments and hits - I got a few more fics for this pairing finished (*coughs*), so new one will be up soon :D Hope to see you there!</p>
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